SOE Alterverse: Duality
by Archdruid-Sephiroth
Summary: Marvel X-Over: In a world where Third Impact was rejected, Rei gets another chance at life. But when she becomes the host to an alien symbiote with a taste for human flesh, to say her life gets complicated is an understatement. Can she get control over herself, or will she become the most feared monster since the angels? Rated M for violence, profanity, adult situations and gore.
1. Relics

Ritsuko knew she had some good ideas before, but now she knew she had a great one. It was a new supplemental product... a super soldier experiment that may compliment Project-E on a smaller scale. They knew little about the angels, and it was likely that when the attacks came, they might not be the massive biblical horrors they expected, but rather more human sized. Either way, she knew it was good to have a contingency plan.

"So, Doctor... what is it you have for me today?" asked Gendo Ikari, the new Supreme Commander of NERV.

"Quite simply," she explained with her youthful enthusiasm, "it is a human level supplement to Project-E. We simply don't know precisely what we are dealing with in terms of the angels so I felt that we should cover our bases."

Gendo approached the clear plexiglass encasement about the size of a shoebox that contained a black sludgy-looking material. As he came closer, it suddenly threw part of itself at Gendo splattering against the side of the clear box. Gendo didn't even flinch.

"It is a symbiotic organism that will provide its host with a variety of combat capabilities including greatly enhanced strength, superhuman speed and senses, and several other spider-like qualities. However, I must point out that I'm uncertain at this stage as to any additional capabilities or even the current extent of the symbiote's powers, but initial DNA and biochemical tests are encouraging!"

"Impressive," Gendo replied once she finished her explanation.

"I'm ready to start human trials. I wouldn't test this on an animal since the symbiote, in theory at least, will only be as smart as its host."

"As impressive as it is however, I cannot approve of this project."

Ritsuko's heart sank. "What?"

"You've managed to create a living subject which is more than commendable, but I need those talents on Project-E. Your mother won't be with us forever, and I need you to learn everything you can. Mankind is counting on this."

"I see," she replied. Her hopes were dashed, but she knew that on some level he was right. She needed to focus on the important projects and not on playing with random DNA samples found in craters relating to the Second Impact.

"Destroy the specimen. We don't want to risk it falling into the wrong hands."

"As you wish," she replied. Gendo left at that.

A few moments after he left, she looked at the specimen which was now calmly pooling in the middle of the case.

"But I can't destroy it," she whispered to herself. "I put a lot of effort into this."

Then she got her inspiration. In the corner were tanks of liquid coolant for Project-E. She immediately decided she would freeze the symbiote so she could return to the project one day.

_I'll put a backdoor program into the MAGI so that I can monitor it and make sure it stays put. Gendo won't know, and what he doesn't know won't hurt anyone..._

The symbiote shuddered slightly as if to point out the inherit flaw in her theory.

* * *

**Archdruid Sephiroth and Tellemicus Sundance Present**

**A Superwomen of EVA: Alterverse Story**

**Duality**

* * *

**I: Relics**

* * *

It is the year 2020 and five years have passed since the event few people even knew took place... Third Impact... It was supposed to bring mankind together into a new god, one that was without the need for petty vengeance, and unite humanity in a way that could only be dreamt of...

It failed...

Shinji Ikari, the Beast who screamed "I am I" at the center of the universe, rejected it. Whether it was his lack of courage, or his shattered mind, that ultimately doomed the project, no one will ever know. Select individuals in the world governments knew that it had happened, but the average citizen had no idea that it ever took place. As far as everyone else knew, the Angel Wars ended in 2015 and mankind asserted its independence from whatever extraterrestrial enemy tried to destroy them.

2020... A year that should be signaling the beginning of a new era for mankind instead puts mankind at the brink of war once more. Andrew Cartigan, a wealthy landowner from southern California managed in five years to destroy the foundation of the American Government. The Constitution was abolished, replaced with a military dictatorship that now set its sights on devouring the entire free world.

The Earth was in the process of correcting itself, its axis slowly slipping back into place for unknown reasons. It was shifting a few degrees a year. By 2025, it would be back to where it started. In a way, the same could be said for a few individuals who were now back where they started.

On the command bridge of NERV Central, a woman with long purple hair sat behind a desk and watched as the bridge technicians continued their work. Above the Geofront, the city of Tokyo-3 was almost completely rebuilt and ready to face a new adversary. It was an adversary that the purple haired Supreme Commander of NERV was not interested in fighting, but had no choice in the matter.

"Why me," she whispered for what had to be the one millionth time since 2016 when she took control. She watched NERV transform from an Anti-Angel instillation into a defensive military compound in that time period, but it didn't make it any easier. The scar beneath her uniform jacket burned slightly every day, a fading reminder of why she became a soldier. Now it was a pointless relic of a bygone era; no more did she have to worry about sending 14 year old children into combat against biblical monstrosities, instead she had to worry about sending more children against their fellow human beings in the name of national security.

"It's a bad business to be sure," her friend and longstanding comrade, Maya Ibuki replied. "Not like we have a choice though. This would be easier if Sempai were here."

"I know Maya," Supreme Commander Misato Katsuragi replied. "I wish Rits was here too. But she's still locked up."

Ritsuko came back from the dead because Shinji wished it. She had tried to do the right thing in the end and to Shinji, that meant she should have another chance. Unfortunately, because of her involvement with Project-E, the powers that be in the Japanese government took action on their own. They knew what actually happened and held her accountable for effectively murdering half the population of the world, as well as conspiring to kill the other half. Though those charges didn't stick, she was convicted on a general conspiracy charge which put her in jail indefinitely...

This was worse than it sounded though, because back in the year 2004 she perfected a symbiotic organism for use as a Super Soldier aid to Project-E, only to have the project shut down on her by then-Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari. Not wanting to give up on the program, she froze it and kept a monitoring program on the MAGI to make sure it stayed under ice. Unfortunately, she was the only one who could access that program. If someone could, they would notice a three degree shift in the temperature of the symbiote, which was a sign that the now 16-year old system was beginning to give out.

None of this information would be of any use to Rei Ayanami, a girl who for all intents and purposes, shouldn't exist. She was the focal point of Third Impact, merged into the Second Messenger Lilith and destined to become one with oblivion at the end... but Shinji wouldn't let that happen. This meek boy who wanted it all, and for the briefest of moments had the power to make it happen, decreed that she would get to live because he needed her. For the life of Rei she didn't understand why...

On some level, as she stared at her naked form in the mirror of her bathroom, she knew she should know the reason why. But so much of her memory of the time she spent with him was gone, a victim of the energy event that changed the world. Lilith must have taken those memories... fed off of them... and perhaps in a way attained true immortality though those experiences. Her brow wrinkled in dissatisfaction... She wanted those memories back and she was willing to do almost anything to get them.

She left the bathroom with only a towel draped around her neck. Sometime after everyone came back, Shinji disappeared... No one knows where he went. Commander Katsuragi has had Section-2 looking into his disappearance but they have failed to locate him. Rei knew he needed to stay away for a while, but it left her feeling empty inside... a feeling she was more than familiar with.

At the age of 19, Rei has parted somewhat with the image of Yui Ikari. Her hair is now shoulder length, a bang usually hangs over her left eye. Though the similarities to Yui are still quite visible, subtle changes in her appearance have separated her somewhat from the late mother of Shinji. Her body has filled out into perfect curves but her skin retained its pale complexion, one that seems invulnerable to the sun's radiation. Her crimson eyes have become brighter with age and her hair seems to have darkened a shade. In total, she was to die for, and many of the boys at her college apparently felt the same way.

She was now receiving the attention Asuka would have received had she been awake. Young men have tried to talk to her on a daily basis, only to find her cold demeanor to be an obstacle they couldn't puzzle through. Some try again and again, while others have long since given up, feeling sorry for a girl that seems to be incapable of expressing emotions.

Today none of those problems were on her mind as she begins to dress, wearing her usual white under-things and finishing off with a simple blue sundress. Once ready she left the apartment, locking the door on the way out, and headed for NERV. Today is the day of her activation experiment to see if she can synchronize with the new Evangelion Unit 15.

The only other current prospective pilot was in the NERV Hospital, still in a coma.

When Asuka came back to the world, she ended up on a beach with injuries coinciding with massive trauma; she had multiple injuries that made it look like she was impaled, and her right arm was split down the center. The girl was found in her plugsuit but no one could recall ever sending her into combat... especially a combat that had gone so obviously and horribly wrong. Only Maya Ibuki secretly knew what the girl had actually been through, as she was the only member of the current bridge crew who was alive to witness that event during Third Impact.

Maya, having felt sorry for the girl, took it upon herself to see that she was cared for. Every day, she would go down to the hospital wing and tend to the girl. She'd make sure she was clean, had good bedding, and was still being fed intravenously. Few believed she would ever awaken, but Maya and Misato were adamant that she be kept on any necessary life-support systems. Her body has fully healed now, with barely anything resembling a scar on her arm, and no marks on her body at all. She has also grown, though her figure is thinner and less shapely than it once was due to her body having no movement for five years. Her muscles had atrophied, though they had machines that could fix that once she awoke, so Maya had no doubt she would be the beautiful and stunning young woman she knew her to be.

For her part, Maya was a little bit in love with Asuka mostly because she had cared for the girl for so long, but also because Maya remembered what the girl had been like before all this tragedy engulfed her. She was spirited and strong, traits that Maya and her meek personality lacked. Though she had become much more sure of herself now that she had attained the rank of Major, she was still the same Maya that four years ago would become ill at the sight of blood.

But how did that love compare to the love of her Sempai? Maya knew without a doubt that if Ritsuko ever returned, she'd want to be at her side. But Maya knew that the events of Third Impact changed her. She firmly believed that Ritsuko remembered everything that happened up until the moment she was shot and killed by the man who used her for his own twisted ends. Maya hadn't even been able to see her when she returned since she was arrested almost immediately... and such a high profile individual would not be allowed visitors. She had no doubt that if the common people knew her name and what she had done in the name of humanity, that there would be a lynch gang waiting for her outside of the prison. Despite her meek nature, she knew she would do anything to protect her sempai.

After giving her commander a brief but reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, Major Ibuki returned to the bridge level. On the screen was the new Evangelion... It was much smaller than previous models being barely over two stories tall with more mechanical parts than biological. It was fitted with advanced armor and both hard point and hand-held weapons as well as levitation thrusters on the feet and propulsion thrusters on the rear unit. They still used plugs, but these were much smaller versions as the units were much smaller in size.

She looked to her old post where herself, Shigeru and Aoba worked as a team in the best and worst of times. There were new people here, and she knew them by station only. Maya was adamant about not getting to know anyone outside her personal circle again, with the exception of the head of Project-3E, Doctor Iku Amano. Anyone else was beyond her circle of caring.

Doctor Amano had proven himself to be a valuable asset to NERV as he was one of the principle members of the organization that converted Project-E from killing Angels to a more conventional military program. Renamed 3E, the new project was designed to handle combat on all three major playing fields; land, air and sea if necessary. Specialized armor add-ons were created to give the new EVA's a major advantage in warfare, though only the doctor himself knew if these new weapons of war were capable of creating the ultimate defensive ability... the Absolute Terror Field. From what Maya was told, it was possible but somewhat unlikely.

On one of the screens on the console in front of her, she saw information on the test pilot they used in Great Britain, as well as data regarding her latest results. Her EVA, Unit 00, was the prototype of the new generation of EVA's. Her Synchronization Ratio was incredible, and as a result she displayed the full capabilities of the unit, able to perform maneuvers that even the engineers didn't think was possible. Maya's eyes scanned the data, glossing over the name "Makinami, M" on the file.

"Impressive," she whispered.

"I figured you would want to see what the preliminary trials yielded," came the voice of Doctor Amano as he entered. He was dressed as a scientist, but was almost a short as she was, and rail thin to boot. His hair and mustache had turned white years ago, but he never minded that, saying they matched his work clothes now.

"Are we certain this is possible with other pilots as well?"

"We're going to find out today," he replied. "Since the system still uses organics to an extent, and the machines do seem to have something of a mind of their own at times, I'm expecting there to be a possibility of pilot rejection. We are taking every precaution of course."

"Of course. Thank you doctor."

He bowed respectfully and stood back.

Several floors below the bridge, Rei pulled on her new plugsuit. The coloring was the same as her old one, with the only real change being the increase in size since Rei grew a few inches. Yui, she knew, was taller than her by a fair bit. Why she stayed so short is unknown to her. Perhaps her angelic side wished for her to be a bit more different from the woman who's looks she inherited. In any case, she didn't lament her lack of height, there was no reason to. There was nothing she could do to change it.

Once the suit was vacuum sealed, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her A-14 Clips held back her bangs allowing both of her eyes to be visible, and she thought about going back to her old hairstyle. Then she dismissed that thought as irrelevant, especial since she knew Ikari would not approve of her going back on so many of her old habits again.

"Ikari," she whispered as she placed a hand over her heart. Saying the name brought feelings to Rei she didn't fully comprehend. She knew she had the answers once, knew what it was like to feel the need to be near others, but now she wanted to simply be alone. Yet when she thought of the boy, the desire to be close to him was there.

Rei had seen in a dream (memory) (alternate future) Shinji lying on the beach next to Asuka, with a red sky overhead and an orange sea lapping upon their feet. But now when she sees that scene, she desired to take the place of the redhead in that picture. Rei wasn't sure when the scene happened or if it even happened, only that it was in her mind. She didn't even truly understand the significance of the scene.

Banishing the thought for now, she headed up the cages. Anticipation was gripping her heart as she recalled what had happened to her six years ago. She remembered Gendo pulling open the superheated hatch with his bare hands, scarring him... the broken glasses... and then the scene playing out again months later when Shinji rescued her from her fallen unit after the battle with the Fifth... This time, would anyone come to her aid if something went wrong?

About 10 minutes later she stood on the catwalk in front of the new plug. It was spherical rather than shaped like a test tube. Inside was the command chair and grips she was used to seeing in an EVA plug, but the shape is where things were much different. She carefully stepped inside and sat in the chair. The form fitting cushions formed to the curves of her rear end and back, making her feel like she was melding into the plug. The hatch was closed and the ball was rolled into the socket in the back of the EVA. Though the outside rolled, the inside stayed upright. Once in place, locks and the rear unit of the EVA closed over the gap making it a perfectly sealed enclosure.

Inside the plug, red lights came on and a synthesized form of LCL was introduced into the plug. Rei remembered her training and explosively released the air in her lungs as soon as the LCL pressure equalized. It may have been artificial, but it tasted and smelled the same. It was easy for her to get back into the routine, though she knew EVA unit 15 would not have the same spirit within it. She didn't know if she could sync with it or not.

The bridge was full of activity now as the technicians began to report on the progress of the activation experiment. They were nearing the critical point now... absolute borderline. Once crossed, they would know if the experiment was a success or a failure. Rei's heartbeat quickened as she reached out and tried to contact the spirit within. At first she thought she had found it and tried to convey her will to it... but the spirit seemed unwilling to respond at first.

Rei held her breath...

"Absolute Borderline reached," one of the technicians reported. Then a second later, everything went to hell.

"Pulses flowing backwards!" another one yelled. "The EVA is rejecting the pilot!"

Suddenly, the EVA thrashed in its confines as if trying to throw off a hitchhiker. It bent forward as much as it could and the back unit released from it along with the locks.

"Oh no," Maya replied as she noticed a massive buildup of LCL pressure behind the plug. With an explosion of liquid and compressed air, the plug was literally shot out of the back of the EVA with enough force to demolish the catwalks and half imbed itself into the wall. It fell out and rolled past the EVA which was now calming down, bumping into large objects as it went before coming to rest around 30 meters from the base of the unit.

Misato was down there in a flash, pulling on heavy gloves before triggering the locking mechanism over the plug door. She took hold of the superheated latches and pulled the plug opened. Inside the LCL was only about ankle deep and Rei had both of her arms wrapped around her chest below her breasts and was trying to breathe without crying out in obvious pain.

"Rei!" Misato called as she stepped in and assessed her injuries. "Damn it, someone get a stretcher! Rei, talk to me... Can you hear me?"

"Co-man..." She tried to talk only to have to cry out in pain. It was a short cry as her breath cut before the limits of her capacity, a piercing pain assailing her chest. Some of her ribs were broken and her arm felt like it was likewise damaged. She tried to open her left eye but blood poured from an unseen injury on her head and when she did open her eye, it felt like she was being stabbed there. She coughed and blood shot from her mouth.

"Damn it!" Misato cried. "Hurry up for God's sake!"

At that moment deep in a storage area, a complex system of cryo-tanks and feed lines were leaking coolant all over the floor. With a cracking sound the central tank burst letting out more coolant and a black sludge that immediately began moving on its own. It crawled into the nearest air shaft and disappeared into the darkness within.

The medical personnel entered the chamber with a gurney and carefully, but quickly got Rei onto it. She was now crying out in pain as they strapped her in to immobilize her and keep her from causing more damage to her already broken body. They quickly wheeled her out with Misato close by trying to assure Rei she'd be okay. She was worse this time than her first activation experiment in Unit-00 five years ago, or at least it looked that way from Misato's perspective.

Misato of course was barred from entering the room where they began working on her. She paced outside the room for ten long minutes as she listened to Rei's cries worsen for the first half then finally begin to subside during the second. Mere minutes later, Doctor Amano exited the room looking relieved.

"She's going to recover then?" Misato asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Her injuries are pretty diverse but she'll recover. She has several broken bones, had a minor hemorrhage in her chest cavity, and a mild concussion, but she'll be okay."

"It sounded worse than the last time this happened," she pointed out.

"I know, but the injuries weren't as severe as they could have been. And considering her regenerative abilities, I'm sure she won't be down for too long, then we can try again."

Misato frowned slightly. "What went wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'll have it figured out by the time we can try again. I promise Commander, next time will be different."

"I hope so Doctor," Misato replied immediately, and with a slight inflection that wouldn't have been out of place on NERV's last Commander. "We can't afford failures like this... and I won't stand for Rei getting hurt again. That young woman has suffered enough already."

Misato looked into Rei's room as Doctor Amano nodded in agreement at her words. Rei was a mess; bandages covered half her face, her right arm was in a splint, her stomach and half of her chest was wrapped up beneath her gown, and there was scarcely a place on her body that wasn't either cut or bruised.

Misato sighed and proceeded out of the hospital wing.

* * *

Night fell over the Geofront as the light transmitting guide wires could no longer pick up the sun's rays. Rei stayed asleep in her bed, breathing evenly as her body began the processes needed to repair itself. It would still take time to mend the bones, clear the bruising and erase the scars, but it would happen soon enough. Rei never scarred, never blemished, and always looked perfect despite the most severe injuries she'd ever received.

As the hum of the machines continued, a slightly sticky and liquid sound came from the air vents as the sludge-like entity of a time seemingly forever ago pulled itself into the room. It sensed out living creatures in its vicinity and sensed one nearby. Sampling the very air in the room it tasted repression, desire and an undercurrent of anger. It was a treasure trove of negative emotions that it could tap into and open up. The repression was extremely valuable... it was a sign of so much potential waiting to be unleashed.

It made its way up the hanging sheet towards the sleeping form and took another sample of the air, quivering in anticipation as it did so. The potential host was injured... badly... oh the great things it could offer it! Offer... her.

Her... now _there_ was a prospect. Female emotions were so turbulent a thing; so quick to change, so quick to shift violently. Desire was an important emotion that many women either repressed or refused to feel, but this one was there, waiting to be tapped. What did she desire? Was it a man? Some object of frivolous want? It didn't matter; it was another tool... another anchor... just another way to hold on to the host.

The black mass quickly crawled its way up her body reaching the bare skin of her neck and upper chest in a matter of seconds. Then it began to smooth over, coating her skin with itself. Like an enveloping darkness, it appeared to consume her, and then just as it began to cover her face...

… Her eyes opened quickly and she bolted upright. She looked at herself but saw nothing, just the bandages and the splints from last night. She felt a slight pain in her side and back but noticed she was able to move without help. Experimentally, she loosed the splint on her right arm waiting to feel the telltale pain of a bone shifting without support... She never felt it... Her arm was fine.

She looked in the direction of her window and saw it was obviously morning. But what was that she felt before? It felt like something cold crawling all over her body... but now it was gone, like it never happened.

_A dream..._

Tentatively, she began to swing her legs over the side of the bed and put pressure on them. Finding nothing feeling out of place she stood up on her own, just as one of the nurses entered to check to see if she needed more morphine.

"Doctor! Come quick!" she yelled as soon as she saw the girl was out of bed and on her feet. Rei carefully removed the IV needle from her arm as Doctor Amano entered the room.

"Rei?" he asked with obvious confusion in his voice. "Are you alright?"

Rei began to remove the bandages over her left eye and her head. "I am well doctor," she replied. "Only a few bruises and scars to report. I'm sure they will be gone soon."

"Astonishing," he replied. "I was informed your unique nature gave you regenerative powers but this is far beyond what I was expecting."

"Perhaps my more advanced development due to age has improved my ability to heal", her deadpan voice was always something the doctor had issues with, but knew he couldn't change it.

"Yes of course," he conceded. "That must be it. I would like to run some tests however, if you don't mind."

"Of course," she replied. "Please close the blinds. I am aware that not everyone is comfortable with nudity."

"Of course," he replied and nodded to his nurse who closed the blinds as Rei began to disrobe.

Under the bed, a mass of black remained in the shadows a moment before crawling into Rei's nearby book bag.

* * *

"She what?!" Commander Katsuragi said into her phone. "I don't believe it!"

"Believe it Commander," Major Ibuki replied. "Rei is in perfect health minus a few bruises and is ready for round two. She wants to try again tonight."

"But Doctor Amano hasn't even attempted to adjust her EVA yet, 15 isn't ready."

"Nevertheless," Maya began, "she's insistent that she knows what went wrong and wants to try again. She's willing to risk it."

Misato sighed. "Alright... Let her try... but have Medical on standby just in case."

"Already on it Commander."

* * *

"Crossing Absolute Borderline in T-Minus 10 seconds," came the voice of one of the techs.

Rei closed her eyes... It was safe here... It was warm...

_It is not a beast, it is a machine that thinks and knows. It desires a partner, not a master. Accept me as your partner._

"3...2...1... Borderline Reached."

"Pulses nominal, no problems detected though checklist. Pilot is syncing at... 67%! Amazing!"

Misato breathed a sigh of relief. "Yesterday, it tries to kill her. Today it wants to be her best friend?"

Doctor Amano chuckled. "It's still an EVA at heart," he replied. "They can be touchy."

"Don't I know it..."

Rei for her part finally released the breath she was holding. She gently tilted her head back and let one last bubble of air escape into the LCL. Idly she watched it float up to the top of the plug-sphere. As much as she didn't want to be a part of this project... she felt at home in the warm LCL...

Her mind drifted, she remembered the sea of LCL... Remembered her physical and metaphysical connection to the boy who held her heart... But something was missing, something was still missing from this perfect scene... but she didn't know what it was.

_Will I ever remember?_

She wanted to go back to the dream... She wanted to lose herself to it... and she didn't know why...

Later, she returned home to her apartment. One could see the general apathy she had for her life still. Clothing was all over the place, papers were in a seemingly random filing system and anything she didn't use in a while was covered in dust. Only the place where she conducted her homework was clean and organized, everything else made it look like she didn't care about anything at all.

She placed her book bag at the side of her desk and simply plopped down on her bed. She would undress soon and slip into the covers for sleep. Unseen by her, the clump of darkness exited her book bag and slipped under her bed. It had given her a boost to help her along. But tonight, it would get something it needed...

… All it had to do was wait...

* * *

**End of Chapter I**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_

* * *

**Official Story Disclaimer: **Venom and other entities from the various Spiderman Series are property of Marvel Comics. Neon Genesis Evangelion and Rebuild of Evangelion are owned by GAINAX. Author and other contributors claim no ownership of such material. This Fanfiction story is for entertainment purposes only and no revenue is or will ever be generated by its creation or display.

**Official Song: **"Wait and Bleed" by Slipknot. Song can be found on their self-titled album.


	2. Homecoming

**II: Homecoming**

* * *

_The edges of her sight were fuzzy and undefined as her view sped over the rooftops. She saw her arm come into her field of view as she leapt from a rooftop, but it was covered in a black skin and didn't feel right to her. A black tendril shot from her wrist and it felt strange as it left her, as if pulling a thin string from out of the veins running through the limb. She didn't see where it went, but knew it pulled taunt as her fingers wrapped around it and she swung. She felt the wind speed past her across her skin. It felt as if she were naked, gliding through the air without care._

_It felt like freedom..._

_Her world spun as she came to rest on the side of a building. Her head was pointed down and she saw her hands. They had almost claw-like tips and she was staring at the street. She was somehow able to hold herself in this impossible position. Her view turned as she started crawling across the building at a rapid rate parallel to the ground, eventually spying two people in business suits. Suddenly she felt very hungry._

_She quickly traveled along the same path until she was almost directly above them and then she dropped. She landed on all fours on top of one, stunning him. The other man screamed and attempted to flee but she held her arms out with her fingers spread like claws with her palms up. A series of black tendrils launched from her arms and entangled the man pulling him in rapidly. Before he could get another scream off, she saw the black skin over her chest stretch into a multitude of other tentacles that quickly engulfed the target and pulled him inside of her. She felt a swallowing reflex but it was in her stomach instead of her throat, and saw a spurt of blood hit the wall nearby from the struggling prey. Suddenly she was less hungry._

"_Oh my God!" the second man yelled having shaken off the stun. She heard herself speak but there was another voice superimposed over her own like a wicked echo. It sounded to her like an evil hiss._

"_God can't save you from me."_

_She stepped off the man, grabbing him with a clawed hand and slamming him into the wall. She felt her mouth open and a long, almost whip-like tongue extended forth, licking his neck and face, tasting him... He tasted delicious to her. She watched as her other hand grabbed the top of his head pulled it back._

"_I'm gonna make this nice and painful!" she said in that same dual voice before her teeth came down and ripped into the man's shoulder. His screams echoed over the alleyway..._

With a start, Rei shot upright grabbing her chest. She was covered in sweat and breathing hard. She'd never awoken like this before. Then again, she'd never had nightmares before either.

"_Why did I dream I was a murderer?"_

It was puzzling to her as she never had ill will towards people before. But last night she felt something in that dream (Nightmare? Unknown thought?) that she... liked. She felt the adrenaline pulsing though her veins. She felt the freedom of soaring across rooftops and swinging between buildings. Was the murder and consumption of two random strangers just another aspect of that freedom? Was it a warning that if she allowed herself to be free, even for a moment, it would bring her nothing more than chaos?

She got up, stripping her shirt and panties as she approached her bathroom. She was home again, back to this cave of apathy and old objects. It was agreeable to her to be here as she never had any real love of the NERV hospital wing. As she approached the bathroom she turned on the radio. Rei never listened to music, but she had found a station that played classical symphonies. She especially loved the cello...

"Shinji," she whispered as she reached the mirror. A particularly powerful cello solo was playing as she looked upon her own unhappy face. "Where are you?"

She wasn't sure what she felt for the boy, but she knew she needed him. She brushed her hair out of her face and examined her body for any marks from her previous accident with Unit 15.

Nothing... Not even the slightest blemish on her body.

"How?" she whispered. She knew she healed quickly but this was crazy; her accident was no more than 48 hours ago. The last time she was injured in an activation experiment it took the better part of two months to repair the damage though healing. Two days and it looks like it never even happened?

As she examined her own face in the mirror and searched for any sign that the marks were still there, a black sludge moved from her sheets to the dark space under her bed.

* * *

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Misato groaned as she pulled her couch pillow over her head. It was 0900 on a Saturday, one of the few days she could take off in a month. Who the hell was at her door at this hour?

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Go away!" she called out.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

She really started hating the persistence here. Just as soon as she got this alcohol-induced headache out of her way she was going to kick the ass of whoever just screwed up her day off. Getting to her feet, she threw the pillow at the other couch and made her way to the door.

"Alright!" she yelled. "You win! But when I get that door open, I swear to Kami I'm going to kick your ass!" She hit the button and was instantly shocked by who was there.

"Really, Misato-san?" the young man replied. "Is that any way to treat your old ward?"

"Shinji-kun!" she yelled and instantly besieged the young man with a bear hug. She was almost in tears when she felt him return the gesture.

"I missed you too," he said calmly.

She let go and stood back a second to look at him. He put on some muscle but kept his rather slim physique and so now he looked a bit more athletic. He wore a black, button-down shirt, blue jeans, and had a backpack slung over one shoulder. He even had on boots by the looks of it now. It was a definite change from the old him. His face changed a little, looking only vaguely like his father. He had a lot more of his mother in him for certain, and Misato counted that as a good thing. As if to accentuate that point, he was very clean shaven and Misato wouldn't be at all surprise if he was pretty anal about his personal grooming. He likely took great care not to look anything like his father.

"You look fantastic!" she said at length. "Wow, what a handsome young man you've become! Are you taken?"

"Misato!" he protested as his face took a slightly reddish tone. "Not even 30 seconds after I get here and you're already teasing me!"

"Some things shouldn't change," she replied with a wink. "Come in! I don't have much in the way of breakfast food. I'm barely home as it is."

"I figured, so I brought some stuff form the store."

"Shinji, you're a guest not a resident! You shouldn't be cooking for your host."

"I know," he replied. "But I want to. I... just want to feel a little of the old days again."

Misato was silent for a moment as that sunk in. Where had he gone?

"Well, since we're talking about traditions," she began as she headed for her beer fridge, "I may as well indulge in one I haven't in some time."

"You stopped drinking beer in the morning?"

"What? No! Of course not, silly! But it never felt right doing my war cry when no one was around to hear it."

Shinji thought that last part sounded a lot sadder than she meant for it to. He smiled gently. "Go for it, I haven't heard it in too long."

Misato grabbed a fresh can and cracked it opened as she sat down. Shinji watched her polish it off in a matter of seconds just as she did in the old days, unleashing an incredibly loud "Ye Haw!" at the end. For a moment, it did feel like the old days again and Shinji couldn't help but cheer her battle cry. On some level, hearing it again gave him hope that things could be better.

He started cooking a western style breakfast, the type that Asuka always demanded. Today he pulled out all the stops and Misato knew she was going to tack on at least two more pounds just in this one meal. Shinji cooked sausage, eggs, pancakes, bacon, more sausage, toast, and even more sausage, all to the perfection Misato remembered of him. As they ate they began to talk.

"So, what have you been up to?" she asked him.

"Finding myself," he replied. "After the Angel Wars, I decided it was best if I disappeared for a while. So I went out and explored the world, did odd jobs here and there, and made lots of money. I've been putting it away and investing here and there. I've got quite the portfolio now... I guess my bastard father would be proud of that, if I even cared."

"Shinji-kun... you don't have to talk about him if you don't want to."

"I know... it just slipped out," he paused, "I hated him..."

"No one knows what happened to him," Misato pointed out. "In fact, everyone seems to have broken memories of the time after the war ended."

"You dream about it still," Shinji pointed out.

"What do you...?"

"You dream about things that seem like memories... nightmares of a time that didn't exist... and yet they feel so real... especially the shots in your back."

Her eyes widened in shock. "How could you know that?" she whispered. Her spine tingled as she felt the shots in her nightmares again and felt a chill as she watched Shinji relax at the table. His elbows came down, his hands folded and his head was low... It was a pose she'd seen too many times on Gendo.

"You kissed me," he whispered.

Misato suddenly stood up, pushing away from the table.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to weird you out."

"Explain yourself, Shinji Ikari," Misato demanded in a low voice.

"It happened as your nightmares tell you it did."

"What? I don't..."

"Third Impact actually happened... I know because I was there. It's what the government is covering up... it's why Ritsuko is locked up... and I'm the reason why the world is still here and most people have no memory of what actually happened."

"Kami..."

Misato sat back down slowly and listened to Shinji as he continued to talk. He told her about how Instrumentality happened, how he was the focal point, and how it came to pass. About how Rei had merged with Lilith and gave him the choice.

"I killed everyone, Misato-san," he said from behind his hands. "I remade this world to give it another chance. The SELEE council is gone, their souls consumed to power the recreation. I thought it a fitting punishment, really. My father was killed during the Impact. He got to see Mom one more time before my EVA bit him in half above the waist. And I know there are a few people whose memories I could not alter... a few who remember with crystal clarity what happened that fateful day five years ago. Lieutenant Ibuki, for one."

"Major," Misato corrected.

"Major? Huh... I had no idea she was still working for NERV."

"I guess you don't know that I'm the new commander then huh?"

Shinji smiled lightly as he put his hands flat against the table. "Hadn't a clue. I imagine Ritsuko remembers everything that happened at least up until the moment my father shot her in Terminal Dogma. Everyone 'knew' the Instrumentality Project was a fraud, but the government knows what really happened."

"How?" she asked.

Shinji separated his hands. "I told them. I gave them the evidence, I explained everything to them because I knew they would do everything in their power to tie up any loose information ends I could not. Of course I was sworn to secrecy. But because I'm the reason the world is still turning they decided not to incarcerate me as well. But I told them that I would tell you the truth one day... and so I have."

Misato was silent. It was a lot to take in all at once.

"In a lot of ways, I messed up," the admission was expected. "But at least now the world has its second chance."

"Shinji... In light of everything that happened I really hate bringing this up to you but I don't have a choice. I need you to pilot again."

Shinji was silent.

"There is a new enemy, one that threatens our nation's security."

"The United States," he noted.

"Yes. No one knows how EVA works better than you. The units are new... smaller... More conventional firepower has been installed..."

"The enemy is conventional," Shinji replied. "No. I won't kill people again."

"Shinji, please, the country needs you. It's only a matter of time before that madman crosses the Pacific and we end up in the crosshairs. There's no plot behind the scenes anymore, I'm being honest with you about everything. I won't withhold information, I promise. Please..."

Shinji remained silent as he stood up and walked to the sliding glass doors of the balcony. He looked out over the street and saw the people going about their lives... The children playing in their yards and he remembered why he piloted EVA in the first place.

_No one else could take up this burden but me..._

He sighed audibly before he made his reply. "I have to think about it."

"Ok," was all Misato could say in response.

"First thing's first though. I have somewhere I have to go."

"Girlfriend?" Misato asked teasingly.

The blush on Shinji's face told her all she needed to know.

* * *

Rei spent the first few hours of her day in NERV HQ going over the specs of her new EVA. She thought about requesting another activation test, but thought better of it. She knew she could get the EVA to cooperate and could sync well with it so there really wasn't any reason to go back and do it again, except peace of mind perhaps.

Once she finished up she returned home, but was thoroughly unprepared for what she came home to.

She used her card to unlock and activate the automatic door. Instantly a lemon fresh scent assaulted her olfactory cavity. She was able to see her barely furnished living room and what she saw was clean. It reminded her of a time when she had returned home one day only to find Shinji in her old apartment and it was also cleaned. Daring to hope, she dropped her bag and walked into the living room.

Sure enough, there standing in the middle of the room was the former Third Child of NERV, and the reason she was alive...

"Hello, Rei," he said with a smile on his face.

"Shinji..." her voice trailed as she walked forward as if under a spell. He was taller now that he was twenty, taller than her by at least 13cm [about 5 inches] but she saw the same boy she had grown to feel affection for.

Shinji was a little shocked when Rei walked directly to him, leaned against him and snaked her slender arms around him and up his back. Shinji held her gently in response and felt her body seem to warm up. She was still subdued, he noted, but she seemed at least a little better at expressing herself.

She smiled that gentle smile as she looked up into his face, taking a small step back without breaking their hold on each other. "You have grown, Shinji-kun," she noted.

"I have," he agreed. "You've grown you hair a little longer, I see." He reached up with one hand and gently pushed her left bang behind her left ear. She looked down slightly with a little hint of embarrassment at his attentions.

"Do you not like it?" she asked.

"No, I love it," he replied quickly. "It's nice to see you trying something new. Your hair has become a few shades darker and your eyes are more expressive. If anything you are even more beautiful than I remember."

"You flatter me," she said again, breaking his gaze this time as her cheeks visibly heated up.

"Is it not good to be complimented?" he asked as he used right pointer finger and gently lifted her head to face him again. She looked into his face and saw something she never thought she would see... desire.

_'He has become more confident in himself,'_ she mentally noted. '_The timid boy who was pushed too far has become a man. My pulse is racing...'_

Indeed, Rei felt her body heating up and her heart thump in her chest. She didn't know what was happening to her, but correctly deduced she was feeling a measure of desire. Something she had never been able to feel before.

"Shinji-kun," her voice was a tiny whisper as his head lowered to hers. When their lips contacted, it was like nothing she had ever felt before. When they parted, they gazed into each other's eyes and sighed. Rei leaned her head against his chest again, just content to be in his arms. Shinji for his part was content to let her stay there forever if she wanted to.

A little later, Shinji cooked some vegetable soup and ate lunch with her. After that, they sat with each other on the balcony overlooking the road out in front of the apartment. There they remained for the better part of an hour before Rei finally had the nerve to ask what she wanted to ask him.

"Why did you bring me back?"

Shinji was silent a moment but he tilted his head back as she removed hers from his chest to look up at him.

"At first," he began, "I thought it was only because I couldn't exist without you. I needed you... To be honest, I still do. But during my travels around the world, during the odd jobs I've done and the experiences I've had, I came to realize something important. The real reason I brought you back was so that you would have a normal life. I wanted that for you more than anything else. Under my father's thumb and the control of NERV, you had no chance of that ever happening. Now that none of these are a factor, you have the opportunity to live that life.

"I was content to let that be. To tell the truth, if you did not feel the same way about me that I felt about you, I would have been okay with that. Knowing you had a chance to be truly happy was enough for me."

"I see," she replied. "There were many times over the course of the Angel Wars that I was ready and willing to die. It was not until I had to sacrifice my life to save you from Armisael that I finally realized that I did not want to die. I finally realized what it was I wanted. I wanted the loneliness to end. I wanted you to banish my demons. I wanted you...just you." She laid her head back on his chest again as his free hand gently stroked her hair, giving her an agreeable sensation of perfect calm.

Shinji smiled gently as he held her and stroked her hair gently. In the darkness, the mass of sludge watched with interest.

* * *

Hours later, Shinji entered NERV using his old ID Badge. He was surprised it worked but took it as a good omen for him. He made his way down to the hospital wing following the directory for his chosen destination. He stepped into the elevator and began his descent down into the lower levels of the hospital wing.

"_Will you stay with me?" Rei asked him._

"_Not yet," he replied. "It seems too soon for us to share a bed."_

"_But in the sea of LCL..." His mind flashed to that connection, both physical and metaphysical._

"_Forgive me, Rei-chan, I'm simply not ready for that."_

Shinji closed his eyes as the remnant of the conversation played out in his head. '_She seemed okay in the end but I know she was disappointed,' _he thought to himself. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator as it continued its descent.

"Why is she so far underground?" Shinji wondered aloud as the doors finally opened. He walked through the hallway, nodding to the nurse at her station. He could tell she thought about stopping him, finding out who he was, and what he was doing so far down but something about his demeanor likely stayed her hand. Shinji knew that despite all of the effort he put into being different from the Bastard King, he was still his father's son. Third Impact changed him, his experiences made him a man... but his genes served as a reminder of who his father was.

_'They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... I hope that's not always true.'_

He opened the door without hesitation and stepped inside. Only after seeing the resident within did his breath catch in his throat.

Asuka was there. IV tubes fed her precious vital fluids to keep her alive but her hair was dull. The sheets clung to her body showing him that she still had her figure, though it was obvious that her muscles had atrophied somewhat. Being in a coma during the last half of her developmental years made her shorter than Rei by a few centimeters where before she was taller by the same. Her face was still beautiful but held an almost haggard appearance.

"Do you dream, Asuka?" he whispered as he approached the comatose girl. "Is that why you seem so stressed despite sleeping in relative peace for five years? Are you dreaming of it too? Do you see the white shapes circling like vultures...? Do you see your own organs being ripped out of your body? What sort of horrors do you still see and experience in your own mind?"

The thought brought tears to his eyes. Asuka was so beautiful once. Though he didn't doubt that if she returned to consciousness that she can quickly regain that physique... but now she would likely never reach her potential. Germans were tall from what he saw... tall and proud. Would Asuka still be proud? Could she be the same confident girl he knew?

"I never knew what you wanted from me," he said to her. "I never could figure out if you liked me or hated me. You were the poster child for 'mixed signals', but I admired you in many ways. I... guess I even loved you a little and that's what makes it so hard to see you like this. You deserve another chance too. That's why you're here... but you let yourself give up. You focused too much on what you did wrong and on your own personal tragedy. That's why you're here now. I gave you a gift, but you thought it a burden. So your body now reflects that."

Shinji gently turned her right arm at the wrist and traced the scar running along the arm with his eyes. It started between her middle and ring fingers and ran all the way up her arm. Her left eye was fine, but there were stab wound scars above and below the eye. The sheet and blanket over her naked frame hid the other scars he knew had to be there.

His hand went to the sheet but he stopped himself. To do this would disrespect her just to fulfill a curiosity, and he had already disrespected her when in this condition once. He would dare not repeat the incident. His hand retracted from the blanket and sheet.

"You are beautiful," he whispered to her. "But my heart belongs to Rei. I cannot be with you the way you want me to, but I hope you awaken soon. When you do, I hope you are able to finally find happiness in this world."

Brushing her hair from her face he leaned down and kissed her still form on the forehead. Finally, with tears in his eyes, he managed to pull away from Asuka and leave the room. The gentle click of the door marked his departure.

Moments later...Asuka's brow furled slightly as if in her slumber she was thinking of something, and her left hand twitched.

* * *

Shinji took a couple of days to get settled in at the Katsuragi apartment. But on Sunday, he finally came to his decision. On Monday he entered NERV with Commander Katsuragi as an EVA Pilot once more.

"I have conditions," he said to her.

Misato had seen this coming though. Shinji was deliberating all weekend and she had done her best to let him think without her influence. This had to be his decision.

"What conditions?" she asked.

"I know Rei is already a pilot, but I don't want that life for Asuka again unless it is something she wants. When she wakes up..."

"If she wakes up," Misato stated.

"_When_ she wakes up," Shinji insisted. "It has to be _her_ decision. I don't want her forced into it."

"That may be difficult," Misato admitted. "We don't have enough pilots as it is and Asuka is one of the few still qualified for this."

"I'd shoulder the entire burden upon myself and you know it."

Misato sighed, "Fine. What else?"

"You buy me a new cello," he said with finality.

Misato blinked. "That's it?"

"Hey, come on, Misato-san, I'm a man of relatively simple tastes. So long as I get a new cello and Asuka gets a choice, I'm content to jump through whatever hoops you have for me."

Misato chuckled. "I still have your old cello you know."

He blinked. "I thought I'd lost that!"

"It's at the apartment. I kept it in a storage closet and pulled it out occasionally to make sure it was dusted... I was certain you would come back."

Shinji chuckled. "I guess that works out then... Thank you, Misato-san."

Misato hugged him...

Now in NERV Shinji was going over the new operations manual while he was getting fitted for his new plug suit.

"Well this is a lot closer to what I was thinking of in the way of giant mecha," he said with an almost childish flare. "Hey, try to leave a little extra room down there this time. This suit chafes as it is."

Doctor Amano sighed. "Oh, grow up, Ikari."

Several dozen floors above lay the office of Commander Katsuragi. The old Sephirotic system was removed long ago and the office was much more to her liking. It even included a beer fridge, though she did keep a small wet bar for high profile guests. Major Ibuki stood before her desk as the commander laid back with one leg over one of the arms of her large chair and she listened to the report.

"We still don't know who did it," she told her.

"Let me get this straight," Misato began, "you're telling me that all the authorities found were bloodstains in an alleyway topside that match the two missing diplomats?"

"We suspect foul play," Maya replied. "I'd like to dispatch Section-4 to help the local authorities. These diplomats were supposed to go to the United States to try to reason with Mister Cartigan. They were specially trained for this assignment. There's no telling what will happen now since we have to send unproven diplomats there."

Misato spun her chair towards the window. "Chances are they would have failed anyway, but it is suspicious that they would be killed this close to their sendoff date. Any other clues?"

"None," Maya replied. "The bloodstains were all we found. No bodies but signs of a struggle. Also, the blood contained traces of alcohol so it's likely they went out to have some harmless fun last night."

"Have the rest of the Government personnel in town placed under Section-2 surveillance for their own protection and dispatch Section-4 to assist with the investigation."

"Got it," Maya replied. "Anything else, Misato?"

She sighed. "No...but keep me informed. This has professional written all over it with the exception of the bloodstains."

"Yeah," Maya agreed. "If this was a truly professional hit, we wouldn't have found them. Unless the bloodstains are simply there to throw us off the trail."

"We may be thinking too deep into this," Misato admitted. "Move forward with the investigation for now."

"Yes ma'am," she replied and left the office.

* * *

In the dead of night, Rei lay asleep but her dreams were again fitful. Nearby, the black sludge pooled on her sheets near the foot of her bed. It tasted the depths of her emotions that she refused to let herself feel and knew she would be the perfect host. Last night was a dry run, tonight would be the real test.

The sludge made its way up her body again and reached for the exposed neckline. In a matter of seconds it was covering every inch of her porcelain skin and beginning to bond its own genetic structure with her. Soon it would no longer need to hide in the shadows. It could hide within its own host. It would use her to get the food and emotional energy it needed to gain strength and survive, and she would have access to powers undreamt of. It knew she would resist at first, but eventually she will break and accept it... She and it would become 'they' and together they would own this world.

It could tell Rei was sensing her current distress but was unable to awaken herself now that she was surrounded in darkness. Her struggles tasted sweeter than the suffering it tasted last night. Rei would indeed make a great source of anguish, and once he turned her over to his way of thinking, they would become the perfect predator.

Rei tried to open her eyes but she couldn't. She tried to get up but something warm was surrounding her and holding her still. She couldn't tell if this was a nightmare or reality but eventually she was able to see again...

_...She was falling!_

_Her arm jutted out launching a black tendril from the wrist. This seemed eerily familiar to her now as she swung. Her other arm was now visible as it launched another tendril near the height of her recent swing. She saw it hit the side of a building and she used her momentum to turn the corner. This continued for a few minutes as she was making her way through the streets of Tokyo-3 until she swung up to a rooftop and scrambled across it on all fours until she was crawling down the building._

_Below her was a young man getting ready to cross the street. Her right hand instinctively threw itself forward launching a black tendril. It grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and she pulled hard, sending him airborne. He screamed in the air as he flew but before he could fall again a series of tendrils from her skin captured him and she crawled back up to the rooftop as lights began to turn on in the apartment buildings nearby._

"_Stop struggling," she said in that oddly echoing voice. "This will all be over soon."_

"_My God!" he screamed. "What the hell are you?!"_

"_We are Venom!" she replied. "You are dinner." Without hesitation she bit into his shoulder. He screamed in terror and pain as the black tendrils began to pull him inside of her and she absorbed him in a matter of seconds. The struggling splattered his blood across the roof._

With a start, she suddenly bolted upright in bed. The warmth that was holding her down was gone. She looked at her hands but they were fine. Sweat covered her body and she shuddered as she tried to get her breathing under control again. The black exo-skin of Venom seeped into her back and neck but she neither felt nor saw it leave her.

"The dream again," she whispered as she got her breathing under control. "Why do I keep dreaming of death and murder?" She got out of bed and went to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face and neck in an effort to bring down her body temperature. She looks into her own crimson eyes and sees something she's never seen in them before. It was something spurred on by the thought that these dreams might mean something horrible about herself.

Her eyes held fear...

* * *

Shinji awoke to the sounds of men entering the apartment. He rolled over and looked at the clock on his desk. It was only two in the morning.

"The hell?" he whispered as he got up and stood near his door, listening.

"There's been another murder, Commander, recently." Shinji didn't recognize the voice at all.

"Who this time?" came the voice of Misato. She sounded just as tired as he did, but also worried.

"His name was Kenoto Masusaka. He was visiting his family from Osaka. Apparently he went out to pick something up from a local 24-hour store when he was attacked. Several witnesses reported hearing screaming but no one saw who did it. But there is something else."

"What?"

"We found a blood splatter and signs of a struggle, the same MO as before. But the murder took place on a rooftop, not street level."

"What?! How is that possible?"

"We don't know. Most of the people who heard the screams said they sounded like they came from street level but when they got to the window there was no one there. They could be mistaken though. Maybe the kid was already on the roof."

_'What the hell?' _Shinji thought to himself.

"This kid involved with the government at all?"

"No Ma'am," one of the men replied. "In fact no one in his family is either."

"Same MO, but this time not a high profile target... Just a kid visiting from out of town... It makes no sense at all."

"This guy may be just killing randomly for kicks. It was obvious by the sheer amount of blood that the murderer would have known he left evidence this time, but he didn't even try to clean it up, meaning he wanted it to be found."

There was a pause. Misato was obviously thinking of the ramifications of this. Shinji's mind was already spinning. This started happening when he returned to town. That meant that Misato would have to consider him a suspect... but he's been here all night so that would clear him for certain. Still the coincidence was a bit to take in.

"Damn it!" she almost yelled though trying to keep her voice down. "I want this bastard found! Get every available man on this investigation."

"Yes Ma'am, we'll find him."

* * *

**End of Chapter II**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_


	3. Enemy

**III: Enemy**

* * *

"Unit 16, proceed to Section Five, Junction 32. And hurry, we have two groups looking to take that location."

"Got it," Shinji replied to the order from Major Ibuki. The new units he found had the ability to glide across the ground at high speed using a combination of high-powered jets and thermal-induction technology. It was an efficient way to move around, and he suddenly wished the technology existed when he had to catch the Tenth Angel.

Sliding in behind the building at 5/32, he checked his radar then peeked around the corner of the building. One of his back-units spun open revealing a multi-warhead missile launcher that locked over his right shoulder.

A column of M-1 Abrams Mk V heavy tanks were visible, moving up the main avenue. They looked a lot like the old M-1's but were much larger and carried a heavier cannon. Within minutes, they would be in Section Five.

_'American Tanks... American Soldiers... humans...'_

Grimly, he activated his Fire Control System and locked on to the lead and trailing tanks. He knew destroying it would both would stall the column and prevent them from proceeding further. They detected the lock on and tried to break formation. Shinji delayed a few moments too long in firing.

The building he was hiding behind lit up as 120mm incendiary shells slammed into it at nearly Mach 1. He slid out from behind the building and released his salvo of two multi-warhead Missiles. They broke up half way to the target into four smaller missiles each and impacted the forward vehicle, but the anti-missile systems of the central tanks prevented the others from reaching their intended target.

"Get your head in the game, Ikari!" Major Ibuki yelled over the radio. Shinji stifled a growl in response.

"Unit 15 in position," Rei's voice came over the radio, nearly deadpan. "Awaiting orders."

"Take them out, Ayanami," Commander Katsuragi ordered.

"Roger," she replied and opened fire with a pair of massive Gatling cannons strapped to the back of her unit. The 30mm seven-barreled weapons roared to life, tearing the closest three tanks in the formation to shreds. The weapons utilized a mix of armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds which shredded armor and then detonated internally. It was an effective combination.

"Unit 16 flanking," Shinji reported as he slid into position to the opposite side of the group. The tanks were in disarray, trying desperately to get concentrated fire on the unit that was quickly destroying them. Shinji leveled the combat rifle in his right hand but hesitated again. One of the tanks drew a bead and fired on him but the shell hit the building next to him. That finally broke his hesitation and he opened fire in response. The 50mm shells made a mockery of the tank's armor.

"EVAs be advised," Ibuki's voice came over the com-link. "Enemy aircraft inbound."

Rei stopped firing and checked her radar. Seeing where the air vehicles were coming from, she switched from her Gatling cannons to her mounted SAM's. As soon as they locked she fired a salvo. "Neutralizing air threat," she reported, again in a deadpan voice.

_'Well at least _she _can play soldier,' _Shinji thought.

Twenty minutes and countless destroyed tanks later, the battle was over.

"Well done everyone," Major Ibuki's voice said over the com-link. "You just saved downtown Osaka."

All at once the city disappeared. All the smoking tanks were gone, the damaged buildings were gone, and all that was left was an empty room set in matte black with a grid set in non-photo blue.

When Shinji exited his simulation plug, he was not in a very good mood. But the last person who would or even could care about that was the person that was just about to chew him out.

"What the hell was that?" Misato said dangerously.

"Sorry Misato-san," Shinji replied. "I guess I was spending too much time thinking."

"Don't give me that," she replied. "We both know why you hesitated."

Shinji was silent for a few moments before he breathed out sharply and braced himself for the argument he knew was coming. "They aren't monsters, Misato-," he began but was quickly cut off.

"You think I don't know that?! You think I don't know how much of a travesty this is going to be? War is horrible, Shinji-kun. There is no getting around that. These people you just killed are trained killers. They wouldn't hesitate to kill you as a soldier of your country, so you must be able to do the same. Your life depends on it... and not just your life. You damn well know what else is at stake here."

Shinji's mind drifted at that comment, remembering the children playing in their yards.

"There are a lot of innocent lives at stake here. In a lot of ways, this is no different from the Angel Wars."

"That's not true," Shinji objected. "Not true at all and you know it. I'm sorry Misato-san, it's gonna take me a bit to get used to the fact that I have to be a murderer to be savior. I guess it shouldn't be too hard... After all, we both know I've done it before..."

"Stop it," she said sharply making him shut up. "Stop it, right now. Stop torturing yourself over things you couldn't avoid or stop. It's not your-"

"It is," he interrupted. "It is completely my fault and you damn well know that. I had the power..._me_. And I'm the one who ultimately decided everyone needed to die."

Nearby Maya listened to the conversation and knew now that Commander Katsuragi knew what she did. _'At least I can talk to someone about it now,' _she thought.

"I own that," he continued. "I'll carry that like I carry everything else. But this... I'm trying Misato-san, I really am."

"I know Shinji-kun... I know." Misato stepped forward and hugged the young man just as she did in the old days.

About ten minutes later, Shinji left the locker room in his normal clothing again and found. Rei was waiting for him.

"I take it your conversation with Commander Katsuragi did not go well?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Slight understatement," he replied. "This is hard for me Rei. The people we're killing... they're just regular people, not monsters. They have families, lives, aspirations... What right do we have to take that from them?"

"It doesn't matter," Rei replied. "They will follow their orders even if it means their deaths. If we are to protect Japan, we must be just as willing to take their lives as they are to give them."

"How very methodical of you," Shinji said with slight sarcasm.

Rei's eye narrowed slightly. "I'm sorry if you do not approve."

"I can't shut myself off like that, Rei," Shinji replied. "Despite killing everyone and then bringing most of them back in Third Impact I can't simply shut myself off so that I can take lives. It comes naturally to you, though, so I guess some things don't change."

Rei's eyes narrowed dangerously. The next thing Shinji knew as that his back was hitting the hard wall and a very upset girl was glaring at him.

"I am _not_ a doll," she said sharply. "I am not a machine. I'm doing what must be done."

Shinji felt the tension in the moment and the ache in his back telling him that she meant business. His face fell slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to imply you were a doll. I only meant that it comes easy for you to do what I could not."

Rei sighed slightly. "It doesn't anymore," she corrected. "It simply has to be done."

She took a step back and Shinji could see something just clicked in her head, like she realized something. Rei looked at her hand and then looked slightly abashed. "I'm sorry, Shinji-kun... I hope I didn't bring you harm."

"I'm fine," he replied. "Guess the training is really helping you out... You've gotten pretty strong."

Rei thought about that for a moment. "I guess it must be." Yet she didn't sound very sure of herself.

"Well I better get going, I have a meeting with reps from the local Tokyo-3 college."

Rei looked up, surprised. "College? What will you be taking?"

"I was thinking physics," Shinji replied. "I have enough money to pursue a doctorate and try to get additional funding once I can hit the field. My investments can keep me going indefinitely, but why not do something I'd enjoy?"

She nodded; it made sense to her. Shinji gave her a quick kiss before departing. Rei looked at her hand again.

"I know I'm not that strong," she whispered to herself. As she thought more about it, she realized she was upset with Shinji for his implied accusation and decided it must have been a quick shot of adrenaline. But if that were true, shouldn't she be experiencing some shaky nerves right now?

She soon banished the thought from her mind as irrelevant.

Shinji reached the main hallway only to find Major Ibuki waiting for him.

"Not you too," he lamented. "I've already had my lecture for today."

"I do remember that day," her words stopped him dead.

"I figured you did," he replied sadly. "I guess that means you overheard my dressing down then."

Maya nodded. "We need to talk about it... You're not over it, and neither am I."

"I know," he replied. "Right now I can't. My schedule is basically full until maybe tomorrow after simulations are done."

"Ok," she replied. "But please make sure you keep that schedule open Shinji. We _need _to have this talk."

Shinji raised an eyebrow and decided to play with her a little. "Is that an order, Major?"

"Only if you force me to make it one," she said without backing down. Shinji however could tell she still had issues with command authority and was close to losing her cool, becoming embarrassed and uncomfortable with the situation. It didn't help that he knew she had a slight crush on him despite her preference for other girls.

Shinji just smiled back at her attempt to look authoritarian and said, "That won't be necessary, Maya. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

About an hour later, Rei was in the gym at NERV doing her normal exercise routines. Nearby a TV was playing the news and she listened in as she continued her stretches.

"In world news," the female reporter began, "The United States seems to have completed their campaign in Canada. Tanks rolled into Ottawa this morning and accepted the surrender of both the Governor General and the Prime Minister. King William of England has stated that Great Britain will not tolerate the actions of the United States and will do everything within its power to free the country from American rule."

_It's only a matter of time before they come here..._

The thought came unbidden. Rei thought it an echo of what many in NERV were talking about nearly constantly now. How long until Japan was in the crosshairs of this madman? How long until they bring their campaign of destruction to the innocent people living here?

_How long until Shinji-kun is put in danger?_

"I must be ready," she whispered, and stepped up her regimen. "I must be ready for them."

Inside her body, Venom smiled. This invisible and powerful enemy would force her to work harder and make herself stronger...and in turn 'they' would become stronger.

* * *

Misato in her office read the latest report. "They've turned their attentions to the south then?"

"It appears so," Maya replied sitting next to her at the desk with another folder. "They want the resources and manpower the Spanish countries could give them. Apparently, their poor aren't enough to keep the war machine going. Also, it appears the Middle East is erupting again. With America focused on increasing its territories, Iran has been stepping up its game there."

"Terrific," she lamented. "All I see all over the world now are enemies." Misato stood up and walked towards the window. She leaned against the window's inset looking out over the Geofront. "What about the murders?"

"Still nothing. The blood splatter seems to indicate massive trauma of some kind, especially at the last site where we collected close to two liters [over two quarts] of blood."

"Two liters?! But there was nothing else? No scraps of flesh, no powder or bullet holes, nothing?"

"Just blood, and only there. No sign the body was moved. It's like it just disappeared."

Misato shook her head. "Two liters... What could have done that?"

"The only thing we can figure is some form of massive trauma, either the splitting open of the abdominal cavity or the body being completely crushed. The blood was in one mass so it had to have been done all at once. Of course there are problems with both theories..."

"For one, Section-4 would have found tissues or organ parts in the case of evisceration," Misato said immediately, already knowing one likely problem. "And no machinery was on top of that roof or even heard during the attack."

Maya nodded. "Precisely."

"What about the MAGI?"

Maya sighed and flipped the page on her clipboard before getting up from her seat at the desk. "They make even less sense. I plugged all the data into the computer the first time and it gave me an error message that asked me to reenter the data."

"Why?"

"Because according to the MAGI, the data was not theoretically possible. So I removed the restrictions and tried again. Based on the wet sounds heard by one of the witnesses, the MAGI determined it was an organism of some size and considerable strength."

"A monster..." Misato couldn't believe her ears. "Are you freaking kidding me? You're telling me that the most advanced computer triad ever constructed is telling us this guy was killed by the goddamned boogeyman?"

Maya stiffed a chuckle. "Essentially...yes."

Misato shook her head. "Obviously the MAGI are not going to be of much help here."

"Apparently not," Maya agreed. "I'll keep Section-4 looking for clues... but until we get a break on this case, we're not likely to catch this guy."

"And he's just going to keep racking up the body count," Misato concluded

* * *

_She ran..._

_She didn't know how many blocks it had been but she kept running. The air burned in her throat and her shiny black hair was beginning to stick to her neck._

"_What... a monster..."_

_Her voice was ragged as well. She wrapped her arms around her chest trying to calm her breathing but remembered what happened to her boyfriend. She cried, her hands covering her eyes as she did so. How was she going to tell his mother what happened?_

_Suddenly a black tendril slammed the garbage can next to her causing her to scream in terror and run again. Her legs wouldn't stop moving and the words 'Kami-sama' wouldn't stop playing in her head. She had to get away, to escape! Otherwise no one would ever know what had transpired._

_She'd seen the reports on TV about the disappearances and had heard that only a blood stain was ever found at any of the crime scenes. And she had just recently seen why that was._

_The monster in black was amorphous to an extent. It created tendrils and swallowed her boyfriend whole. She heard a scream before the blackness engulfed him and saw the spray of blood._

_No body... No body because it devoured the victim whole..._

_She quickly turned another corner but fell, scraping her knees in the process. The adrenaline pumping though her body helped her to ignore the pain. She scrambled to her feet then kept running._

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are," came the creepy dual voice._

_The thing was humanoid, and it spoke with two voices. The sound scraped across her spine like a blade across slate. She kept running... What else could she do? Her blind escape took her into an alley. It was her last mistake._

_She saw the fence and the gate ahead of her. Just beyond was the main road and safety. She kept running and never looked back... Then suddenly she stopped. A black tendril was around her waist and she screamed as she was suddenly pulled back. She reached out trying to find something to grab ahold of as other tendrils wrapped around her wrists, ankles and neck. More covered her as she stretched out, trying desperately to save herself._

_Darkness quickly engulfed her. She felt her body rupture and then she knew no more..._

Rei awoke from the nightmare with her heart beating harder than it ever has.

"Kami..." she whispered as her left hand fell over her chest. Unseen by her, the last bits of black exo-skin were absorbed into the back of her hand. She got up, stripping off her few articles of clothing because they were soaked in her own sweat, and they were making her very cold. Gooseflesh erupted across her body.

"What is wrong with me?" she whispered.

She entered her bathroom and flipped the light on. After a moment, she found herself puzzled by why she wasn't momentarily blinded by the light, as if her eyes were already used to it. She looked down at her counter and then instantly stepped back.

There were blood spots on her sink counter. Her heart raced even faster. She quickly looked over her body trying to find the injury but found nothing. Rei knew she didn't bleed like normal girls did but she did check there as well, but to no avail. There was absolutely nothing to indicate where the blood came from...

..or if it was even hers...

She banished the thought from her mind and quickly cleaned up the blood. It wasn't dried or coagulated which was even more worrisome. That meant it was in fact fairly recent... and if it wasn't hers...

"I'm okay," she whispered to herself as she cleaned the blood. "I'm okay..."

_'But why am I still shaking?'_

* * *

Breakfast at the Katsuragi household was interrupted by Section-4 that morning. This time Shinji was on hand to hear the entire conversation without having to be covert about it.

"Two more murders last night, ma'am," one of the two men said. "They were attacked at the same time but died in two different places."

"Bodies?" Misato asked.

"No, just blood as usual. There is evidence that the second victim was chased a good long ways before the killer took her too."

"I see," Misato replied.

"There is something strange this time though," he continued. The blood from the first victim was found on street level, on a flat horizontal surface as normal, but the second victim's blood was in a completely different configuration."

"What do you mean?"

"It was all over the side of the building, four stories up."

Misato's eyes widened.

_'A monster... Are you freaking kidding me? You're telling me that the most advanced computer triad ever constructed is telling us this guy was killed by the goddamned boogeyman?'_

"There were also marks on the wall, like something was hanging there. We tried the windows in the building but they were all locked in such a way that they could not be opened. This means that either the killer was repelling off the roof, or was somehow hanging from the wall when he killed the second victim. We're now looking for similar marks on the buildings where the other killings took place."

"Kami-sama," she whispered. "They were right..."

"Ma'am?" the operative questioned.

"Get every available Section-2, 3, and 4 operatives together and arrange 24-hour surveillance of the city. Make sure they're well-armed."

The two operatives looked at each other thinking what the commander was ordering was a bit extreme but they knew better than to question their orders. "Yes Ma'am! Right away!" They left in a hurry.

"Misato-san?" Shinji asked.

"Shinji, I know you're a little old for this... But do me a favor and don't be out on the street after dark anymore, ok?"

"What's out there Misato-san?"

Misato was silent for a few seconds as she considered her answer. What she chose did not inspire confidence.

"I wish I knew," she whispered with a twinge of fear.

* * *

"Unit 16, proceed to Section Nine, Junction One-Four-One."

"Roger that," Shinji replied to the order from Major Ibuki. He slid in behind the building and cut his jets. Peeking around the corner he saw the column of M-1 Mk V tanks. Above them, a series of AH-1 Mk III Delta Cobra attack helicopters flew support. His primary target he knew would be the two massive, nearly two-story tall support carries in the center of the formation.

This time, Shinji knew he had more of an advantage. They were attacking Tokyo-3, the stupid bastards... This fortress city stood up to Angel attack after Angel attack. An American tank column, air support or no, wouldn't stand a chance here.

"Ground crew be advised, ground forces are supported from the air," the update came from one of the newer bridge bunnies who apparently didn't realize she was looking though Shinji's field of vision.

"No shit," Shinji said half sarcastically. "I can see that. Ayanami, what's your status?"

"In position, Ikari-kun, and awaiting orders," she replied.

"Target the helos, try to take out as many as you can. I'll take the first and last tanks in the column just as soon as they get within the city limits."

"Negative, Ikari," Maya cut in. "Too much of a risk of collateral damage."

"I'll keep it minimal. I don't want these bastards getting any maneuvering room."

"We'll follow Ikari's plan, Major," Commander Katsuragi said with finality. "We can budget for collateral damage. That part of the city is deserted anyway."

"Targets locked," Rei said. "On your order."

Shinji waited until the first few tanks were already inside the city. "Fire!"

A series of SAMs launched from the back launchers of Unit 15 and the helicopters were far to low to the ground to respond in time. The salvo took out six, only missing two. As the broke off, Shinji launched two Skyfall missiles... The deadly projectiles flew in a high arch straight up, coming down down on their targets too quickly for AMS to be of any use.

Shinji's EVA only carried four of these so he had to make them count. The tanks were inside the city when both the point and trailing units were destroyed by the Skyfalls. Rei allowed the city's AA guns to deal with the remaining choppers as she switched to her-back mounted Gatling cannons and started ripping into the line from the side.

Shinji glided over a few blocks before flanking the group, moving in with a progressive sword for the killing blows on the massive support carriers in the center of the column. Within moments they were destroyed, and the remaining tanks could not counter his offensive quickly enough. Within minutes, the enemy was destroyed.

"Now _that's_ how it's done!" Major Ibuki said with a cheer. "Good work everyone! This is our best run yet! The MAGI say we did less than 180 million yen in collateral damage and reload costs are well within nominal range. Plus, no civilian casualties."

Shinji nodded. "Works for me," he agreed as the simulation ended as the grid reappeared. "I need a drink."

"Sounds good!" Misato agreed. "Maya, how soon until the official report is ready?"

"About 10 minutes Commander," she replied.

"Good! Save it for the morning. Go get changed, you two."

About 10 minutes later, both pilots exited their locker rooms.

"That went well," Shinji said, though his demeanor was less than convincing.

"Shinji-kun," Rei consoled, "I know you don't want to kill people but..."

"It's alright Rei," Shinji said in response. "I know what I have to do. Honestly, right now I think I might be safer in war than on the streets of Tokyo-3 anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"You haven't heard? There's a killer on the loose in the city. Never leaves a body, just a blood splatter."

Rei's heart skipped a beat. "Just blood?"

"Yeah. Misato told me the last one was really weird, like the guy was hanging onto a high wall when he did it this time or something. There was blood all over the side of the building. There were two victims last night and they were separated by several blocks. They think the killer probably chased the poor girl all the way to the place where she was killed."

_'Just like my dream,'_ Rei was visibly shaken.

"Are you alright?" Shinji asked.

"Fine," she said quickly. "I'm sorry... I think I might be coming down with something. I'd better go..."

"You can always have yourself checked at the infirmary downstairs."

"No, no. It's alright," she said quickly and started to leave. "I'll just go home and get some rest."

Before he could stop her, Rei was gone. Shinji was flabbergasted, wondering what would make her do that. He sighed, then went off to his appointment with Major Ibuki.

Rei eventually got home. She closed and locked the door, threw closed her curtains, and made sure everything was fully secured. Then she ran into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

_'My dreams are coming to pass... Am I seeing the future? Or is it possible... I could be the one doing this?'_

She began to remember the other dreams... The freedom... The blood...

"Please tell me this isn't real," she whispered as tears left her eyes and hear heart began pounding harder in her chest. "Please...Kami-sama... Please don't let this be real..."

* * *

Misato sat in her office. It was dark in there and with good reason; her mood was equally dark.

"I wonder if this is why he kept the place so dark," she mused to no one. Her door buzzer went off and she hit the button to let whoever it was in. She straightened herself out and folded her hands on her desk, with her palms nearly flat against the surface.

It was the man from Section-4 again.

"What was the result," she asked before he even got to the desk.

"Now that we knew what to look for, we're looking at these crime scenes in a new light," he explained. "Those claw-like marks were found at every crime scene, and all along the buildings between the first and second victims from last night."

"Damn," she whispered. "What exactly are we dealing with?"

"We don't know yet," he answered immediately. "Whatever it is, it can devour people whole. We've been able to surmise that the blood splatters are the result of outstanding force crushing the victims, probably the killing bite. The splatters are consistent with the type of splatter you would see if someone was caught in a car crusher and some of the blood was allowed to escape. However at a couple of the crime scenes there was also blood splatters visible that seem more consistent with wounds inflicted through mundane bites."

"So it doesn't necessarily need to use its teeth, but it does occasionally."

"That's what we believe at this point," he agreed. "In addition, the patterns of debris used to identify that a struggle took place are consistent with the victim being dragged. Meaning, the thing has long appendages or possibly some form of pseudopod or tentacle, and perhaps more than one."

"So you're telling me it's multi-talented, but you still don't know what the hell it looks like," Misato clarified.

"I'm afraid so Ma'am."

"Any reports from the street so far tonight?"

"Nothing, not a peep."

"Well this bastard has been killing people every night for the past three nights... I seriously doubt it's going to stop now. Tell them to keep their eyes open."

"Understood."

* * *

In the lowest levels of the NERV hospital wing, only one nurse was on duty. It was going to be a long night for her as normal.

In the quiet of the corridors, the sound of beeping could be heard in time with a heart beating no more than 40 times a minute. The leads connected to a girl aged 19 who was breathing softly. This is a scene that had not changed in five years.

Then, she twitched slightly. Her heart rate registered a slight increase, bumping up to 43 BPM, but for several seconds after that she was still and her heart returned to 40 BPM. Then she suddenly started twitching wildly and her pulse shot up. The nurse at her station was alerted of the change and ran down towards her room.

The red headed girl's pulse shot up to 130 BPM in a matter of seconds, then suddenly dropped down to around 60. The nurse stood over here seeing if she was still moving.

Asuka's eyes snapped open and the nurse jumped, making a fearful sound...

* * *

**End of Chapter III**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_


	4. Snap

**IV: Snap**

* * *

Shinji really wasn't looking forward to this. He had wondered if Maya would want to confront him about what happened, but now that he knew, he was loathing the idea. He would have to drag up some very bad memories about Third Impact.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me," Maya said as he walked into the office.

"You didn't give me a choice in the matter," Shinji pointed out.

Maya smiled sadly. "I guess I didn't at that." Maya really didn't change at all in the five years since Third Impact. She still seemed mousey, she still had a thing for girls, she wore her hair the same way... Even her face changed little, with almost no signs at all that she's now approaching 30.

"So," Shinji said as he tried to move things along. "What is it you want to know?"

Maya was silent for a few moments before the first all intrusive question left her lips.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why did you want us all to die?"

Shinji looked down watching his own hands fidget on his lap as she continued to clarify her response.

"Why did we all have to die? You basically murdered the entire planet, and for what?"

Shinji sighed before his eyes met hers. The feelings conveyed were of annoyance, not self-pity as Maya was expecting. She wondered if she'd pushed too far so quickly.

"Why?" he echoed. "Because I had to. Third Impact had already begun... I was the focal point, I was the center, I was The Beast Who Screamed 'I am' at the very heart of the universe itself!" The intensity of his voice made her draw back fearfully. "Had I not killed everyone, they would have died anyway and your souls would be lost beyond the boundaries of space-time. I stripped everyone's AT Fields and brought them together in Instrumentality because it was my purpose to do so. I had no choice but to effectively kill everyone, so I could save some. To be completely and painfully honest with you, Maya, I saved a lot more than I expected to... I figured no more than 15 percent would return."

Maya was shocked to hear him talk like this.

"Yeah, I hated everyone in the end. But that's what my father, SELEE, and everyone else who was involved in trying to start the Impact wanted in the first place. Was I bitter? You bet your ass I was bitter. Everything that happened to me was strategically designed to destroy my Ego Borders and make it possible for me to become the focal point. Father believed that if he could destroy my will and insert himself into the equation as a part of Adam, he could usurp my control and make the Impact what he wanted it to be. Rei stopped that. She denied his control in the end and gave me the power to remake reality."

"So why bring us back to square one then?" Maya countered. "Why wouldn't you complete Instrumentality like the 'Old Men' wanted? You had the power to make that happen right?"

"You're right," he whispered. Then his voice rose again. "I had the power to make it happen. But I rejected Third Impact in the end. I tore the energy from the souls of SELEE, and remade creation just as it was before the Impact began because of one simple fact...one unavoidable truth..."

Maya leaned in closer as if afraid she would miss this point if she weren't listening closely.

"We... as a race... aren't ready. We have no right to ascend. There are things that exist beyond the scope of our understanding that would drive us insane at the mere sight of it. If we knew what was out there... If normal people had even the slightest idea of the sheer glory of ascended existence, or the Lovecraftian horrors that complicate that existence, it would be chaos."

Shinji looked away from Maya as he spoke his next and most final line, "Mankind as an ascended being wouldn't last a minute in that chaos... We're simply not ready."

"I see," Maya replied. "But is this really better?"

"How can you ask that?" Shinji countered. "We survive, we grow, and now that the world is being set right again, we have a chance to earn our place in ascension. Tabris told me, before Third Impact ended and everything began to revert to normal again, that the fact that I realized we weren't ready is the surest sign that we have come far... But he left me a warning. The Angels will return if mankind tries to force its own evolution again."

"I see..." Maya replied trailing off in her own thoughts about that. Her phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts. "Maya here. What can I... WHAT?! When?!"

Shinji tried to hear who was on the other line but to no avail.

"I'll be right there," she said and closed the phone. "We need to get to the hospital wing right now."

"Why?" Shinji asked sounding worried.

"Asuka's awake."

* * *

The Geofront had changed little from the last time Asuka had laid eyes upon it. The guide wires that transferred light from the skies above Tokyo-3 glistened like the lead lines of spiderwebs. Where Kaji's melon patch once resided was now a complex hydroponics building that was able to provide food for the Geofront in case contact was lost with the surface for any reason. The buildings were currently in the raised position so Asuka could only make out the squares that formed the doors though the armor plates for the buildings to lower through.

It was all meaningless...

Asuka's spark of life did not end when she was impaled by the mass production series... She continued to suffer through the opening stages of Third Impact. The pain still lingered like a weak specter from her sordid past; she could feel the blood in her veins. Occasionally, it felt like it was pulsing up to the surface where her scars were. She stared at her right arm. Upon it she saw a nasty scar that ran its entire length.

It reminded her of her failure...

She had no idea why she was back, only that she didn't deserve life.

"Non, was soll ich tun?" she whispered to herself. [Now, what do I do?]

It was a fair question... EVA was everything to her. She doesn't believe she will have anything else again. While she had a college degree, she never planned to have a normal career in her life. So what does she do now that all of her ambitions are meaningless?

"Überleben," came the voice of Misato. [Survive]

Though hers was a familiar voice, it brought her little joy to hear it. She turned and held a sad smile to her face. Her expressions were almost robotic even as she sighed.

"This isn't my world anymore," she stated. "I should have stayed dead."

"He didn't want you to die," Misato replied. "He wanted you to live... Maybe get a shot at a normal life."

"Did he tell you that?" she asked skeptically.

"No... But you know it's the truth."

Asuka turned away back towards the window. "I have nothing now," she continued. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That's not true... Japan needs you now. We've rebuilt EVA as a more conventional weapon."

"We're fighting ourselves now." It wasn't a question... It was a statement.

"We need you," Misato continued undaunted.

She sighed. "Why does it sound like you're actually giving me a choice in the matter?"

"It's Shinji's desire that I do so," she replied. "I respect his wishes. He himself has agreed to pilot and we do have a unit on standby for another pilot."

"Why me?" she said quickly. "At the end of the war I couldn't even get my EVA to move..."

"Because when you did, you were the best."

"No," the redhead replied sharply. "Shinji-kun was always the best... A child with no training was always the best. I couldn't even touch his performance when it counted. He's saved me countless times, when I was supposed to replace him." Her jaw was set on anger and Misato could almost feel the resentment coming from her. "But... that was fate. EVA is everything to me, it always has been. You say these are different units... That's fine. You want me to kill people for you? I can do that. But know this... I am just as likely to fail again... Do you really want me back?"

Misato wasted no time answering. "More than ever. Don't you see Asuka? This is your chance to get it all back! Get back in the saddle and face your demons. Don't be ruled by them."

"Been studying psychology Misato?"

"I don't need a damn degree to know you've got own your inner demons. We all do. But I have more things to worry about than that. I _know_ you can do this, Asuka. As Commander of NERV, I wouldn't offer this position to you unless I knew you could do it."

"Commander?" she said questioningly. Misato said nothing but Asuka knew it wasn't a lie. "Very well... Commander... I'll pilot again. I'll pilot for you... I'll kill for you if necessary..."

"Don't do it for me," she countered. "Don't you _dare_do it for me. Do it for the only person it should matter to... do it for you."

Asuka didn't respond, she simply nodded her acquiescence.

"Take a couple of days to recover at least. We're not at war yet."

"Who will we be fighting?" she asked, trying to sound like she cared.

Misato paused a moment before she replied. "America. Guess it's time we paid them back for 1945."

Asuka found that doubly ironic in her case.

* * *

Rei awoke with a start. She sat up, her sheets were almost soaking wet and she felt dehydrated. Another night, another bad dream.

"Why won't this stop?" she whispered as she walked towards the bathroom. There was no way she was going back to sleep now. She flipped on the light and again she wasn't blinded by it. She was about to turn on the faucet when she noticed something wrong.

Her fingernails had something under them. She flipped her hand over and examined the underside to see what it was. Her heart started beating a mile a minute when she realized what she was looking at.

Blood... and not her own...

This was the second time she found blood after one of her nightmares. This time she was ready. She carefully opened her medicine cabinet and retrieved a small tube. Using the tip of a pair of tweezers, she scrapped some of the dried up blood into the small container and sealed it with the lid.

"I hope it's mine," she whispered as she put the vial aside and began to wash her hands and face.

* * *

"Begin Activation of Unit-17," Major Ibuki ordered.

"Roger," Asuka said in a deadpan voice, as she began to power up the systems. The EVA's persona was pulling at her mind, attempting to determine what kind of a person she was. Asuka, for her part, did nothing to interfere with the curious intruder. It wasn't Mama, but she didn't care about that anymore. Her mother was with her last time, and she failed when it really mattered.

_I won't fail..._

The words seemed to come from the EVA, imagined perhaps as Asuka could only ever read emotions and feelings from EVA-02. This one was different, the personality was closer she felt, to her old self... confident and determined. But this brought her little joy. Rather than reject her though, the EVA tried to bend itself to Asuka... It only partially succeeded.

"Sync ratio registering at 42 percent," one of the bridge bunnies reported.

"Not bad Asuka," Maya commented. "Highly respectable considering EVA-17 is nothing like EVA-02."

"It will suffice," she replied with little emotion. "May I commence shut down procedures?"

"Go ahead."

Asuka shut down the unit and began to drain the LCL in preparation to leave.

"She's not really here, is she?" Shinji asked. He got to be on the bridge for the activation test and what he witnessed was similar to what he saw in Asuka's room...

_Earlier, he entered her room after she had gotten dressed and finished getting her hair set up._

"_Hey, Asuka," Shinji said and he tried to sound cheerful. Misato had told him Asuka agreed to pilot but that she was acting a lot more like Rei used to rather than her old self._

"_Third," she replied without turning around._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_I wish I knew," she replied as she finished her hair. "I have an appointment in 20 minutes on the muscle re-builder to repair the atrophy damage but I'm pretty decent considering I've been asleep for half a decade."_

_Shinji frowned slightly. "I'm... glad you're back with us," he offered._

_Asuka finished her hair and turned back towards him. "I'm not," she deadpanned._

"_Asuka I— "_

"_You should have left me dead," she cut before he could continue. "And don't you dare apologize to me. I heard you finally managed to grow a spine, so don't fuck it up."_

"_Okay," he said simply._

_She sighed. "I know you wanted me to have a normal existence, but I can't live like a normal person."_

"_Is that why you're going to pilot again?"_

"_Yes," she answered. "I have to... There is nothing more in my life than EVA."_

"_But it isn't even the same anymore..."_

"_So?"_

"_So, don't you think you'd be happier— "_

"_What? Happier trying to have a so called 'normal life'? Happier making babies for some deadbeat baka and being a house wife? Or maybe happier with an engineering job designing highway loops or cogs for the new Type-33 Plasma Engine?" She paused and then she yelled, "I can't live like that! That isn't me!_ _**I am a fucking soldier!**__" She finally began to calm again and returned to her near deadpan style of speech. "This may be a different war, the weapons may be different, but so am I. This is all I know, all I've ever known, everything I've worked for, lived for, and ever truly desired. And if I'm forced into this disease I call 'being alive', then there is nowhere I'd rather be."_

_Shinji flinched. "Do you usually throw gifts back into the faces of their givers?"_

_Asuka blinked and then laughed mirthlessly. "You think this is a __**gift**__?! You didn't even_ _**look**_ _in my general direction during Third Impact, otherwise you would have seen my condition... I was alive up until the point my soul was released during Third Impact. Do you know who I saw? Do you know who came to me and released me from my torment? No one... not a fucking soul! My AT Field collapsed and my soul released because I gave up. I wanted death... and if I was actually given a choice in the matter, I would have stayed dead."_

_She pulled her sleeve up from her right arm showing Shinji a sight that made him gasp in both shock and confusion._

"_I re-winded time so that never happened... That shouldn't be there," he tried to explain._

"_Shouldn't... Is. I accepted death and therefore accepted the reality I was in. You forced me to come back here and because I accepted my body like this, this is how I returned." She pulled her shirt off. Asuka wasn't wearing a bra so there was no hiding the marks on her body. Nasty circular scars, 8 of them, were all over her body. Her ribs were plainly visible due to the atrophied muscles and slight emaciation. Shinji saw all of this but also realized she was not covering herself at all and turned away._

"_Oh come on now," she mocked. "Not like you haven't seen them before right? LOOK AT **ME**, YOU SPINELESS COWARD!" Shinji suddenly found himself slammed against a wall. Asuka's weak muscles couldn't cause any pain, but the ferocity surprised him and reminded him of the old her. He opened his eyes, thinking about how amazing it was that she was able to cross the room that quickly considering her condition._

_The young man now had a perfect view of both Asuka's pert but modest breasts and the hideous scars that randomly pockmarked her chest and stomach._

"_You did this to me," she whispered now that he was point blank to her. "You."_

_Her head bowed as she finally started to drain the aggression out of her body. Shinji was still unable to move with her hands all but locked on his shoulders and just watched as her body shook slightly with each sob, until she finally started to full on bawl. As her hands finally began to release his shoulders, Shinji, still unsure, tried to put a hand on her shoulder to console her. He didn't even manged to get a word out before she all but threw herself on him and continued to cry hard as her arms locked around him._

"_Asuka... I—"_

"_Just hold me, baka... Please... just let me know that there is a reason I'm here."_

_Shinji's eyes filled with unshed tears. Her state of undress forgotten, he wrapped his arms around the broken young woman and let her cry..._

"No, Shinji-kun," Misato replied on the bridge. "No, she isn't. I'm not even sure we'll ever really see her again."

"You saw what happened, I take it?"

"I saw everything," she replied. "I know she blames you for her state. I know she thinks she's better off dead. And I know that she knows that she can never have you."

"How could she know that?" he replied.

"I think she saw the exchange between you and Rei in Third Impact," she replied. "She told me she knew that she would never possess you."

"Well, that's it then." Shinji leaned back against one of the chairs. "She's letting herself become that which she hates and fears, and for what?"

"Probably so that the pain and fear will remind her that she's still alive," Misato replied. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if she starts cutting herself."

Shinji cringed at the implications of that.

* * *

Early the next day, Rei entered one of the labs. She found a DNA Extrapolation Device, and hooked it up to the computer, and she logged on. She suddenly blacked out for a moment, but came back out of it only to find that she was now logged in to the computer and it was waiting for instructions. She didn't know why but the screen had reset so her commands would be on top of the display. Nothing she previously typed before this point was visible to her.

Reaching into her pack, she pulled out the vial and the local newspaper she was using to protect it from shocks. She opened the vial and spread the dried blood onto the sampling tray and inserted it into the device. Then, she waited...

The system began to analyze the DNA. Feeding it though the local databases, it finally came up with a match.

Azuno Ako

Rei didn't know anyone by that name but knows she saw something recently on that name. She picked up the newspaper and there the name was, on the paper.

BLOODLETTER STRIKES AGAIN

'Bloodletter' was the name the media gave to the murderer that has been leaving nothing but blood stains where his victims once were. The article named the latest victim... it was Azuno Ako.

Suddenly, she was besieged by the image of the young girl being devoured whole by her. She was pulled in, kicking and screaming via a series of black tendrils.

Rei's pulse suddenly shot through the roof. She quickly gathered the stuff, closed the program without saving, and re-collected the sample. Then she left.

Later upon getting home she dropped her stuff on the floor and went straight for the kitchen. She pulled out her bleach and all of her major cleaning supplies. She began cleaning the apartment from top to bottom leaving no square millimeter untouched, her heart pounding in her chest the entire time she cleaned.

Hours later she dropped the supplies and crawled upon her now uncovered bed. Her linens were in the wash with lots of bleach as she found bloodstains in her bed, some quite old. If they didn't come out though, she'd be forced to dispose of them somehow and get new sheets.

She scooted herself back against her headboard and pulled her knees into her chest. Then suddenly as a ragged breath escaped her, she shook with fear and despair.

"What am I?" she cried as tears fell from her eyes. "What the hell have I become?!"

* * *

"Someone scanned a blood sample on one of the lower laboratory levels," the Section-2 Agent reported. "The computer log shows that the blood sample belonged to the last known victim of Bloodletter, Azuno Ako."

"Then the killer is here in NERV," she replied. "Who logged in at that location?"

"That's the odd part," the agent continued. "We have no idea. 20 pieces of surveillance equipment and complex security protocols and we have no idea who scanned the sample. That particular lab was never used even during the Angel War and was not set up with any video surveillance. The key logger was bypassed, the log on was anonymous, which shouldn't have been possible by the way, and there were no fingerprints on the keyboard. Basically, every single way we could determine who was using that computer at the time the sample was scanned was either not operable, bypassed, or otherwise foiled."

Misato was not happy at all. "You've gotta give me something," she replied. "Anything."

"I'm sorry, commander. But those labs were never under full lockdown due to never being used by Project-E. There is currently no way of determining who did it or even why."

Misato thought a moment. "It couldn't have been the killer though right? Why would the killer scan the sample?"

"Maybe he wants to get to know his prey now? This would be the best place to get that information yes?"

"Yes, but how many people outside of NERV would know we have this kind of equipment?"

The agent was silent as he saw where the Commander was going with this.

"Whoever it was didn't spend more than a moment more than he had to in that room. I know how fast the system works. And then there is one major piece of the puzzle we're missing... one all-important fact."

"And that would be?"

"Even if our normal surveillance equipment and systems failed, the information still has to go through the MAGI, and they didn't even register that this was happening. That means we're either dealing with a hacking god... or someone who knows a lot about artificial intelligence systems of this level."

She sighed before she continued. "It's time I brought in the expert on the MAGI."

"But she's still in prison," the agent pointed out.

"Yes, but as Supreme Commander of NERV, I can make a few calls and have her sentence commuted. She'll probably be effectively under house arrest here at NERV, but I think she'd be okay with that."

* * *

The morning of the next day, Misato waited on the VTOL pad at the largest of NERV's access points. A military VTOL landed at the pad, its turbofans blowing dust and wind around. Misato stood at parade rest and her loose purple hair was blown back by the wash of the powerful lifting fans. The side door opened and two MP's jumped and assisted a brown haired woman in a prison jumpsuit. Her ankles and wrists were still bound.

"The binders are no longer necessary," Misato said immediately as they reached her.

"We were ordered to keep them on her until she was below ground."

"You're in Tokyo-3 now," she said with an edge to her voice. "According to the NERV Charter Article 58 Subsection 3, any Military Personnel within Tokyo-3, the Geofront, or any other suburban area tied to this region falls under the direct authority of NERV until their previous orders require them to leave the region. So take the fucking irons off of her before I have both of you shot for insubordination."

The MP's were shocked by her aggression but they knew she was right. They quickly complied, removing the irons and allowing the woman to gently rub her wrists.

"Good. Now get out of my city. Section-2 and myself will handle things from here."

They decided it was best not to argue and got back on the VTOL which left immediately. When the loud turbofans were finally in the distance, the woman finally spoke.

"You almost sounded like Gendo for a moment."

"Very funny, Rits," Misato replied. "Truth be told, I hate doing that."

"No, you don't," Ritsuko replied immediately. "I saw the footage from the bridge of the 'Over-the-Rainbow' some six years ago when you put that admiral in his place. You enjoy pushing your authority on people that underestimate you and you know it."

Misato sighed in response. "Alright, you got me there," she admitted. "So, let's get you underground and into something more 'you' shall we? Besides, I can't stand you without blonde hair."

Ritsuko laughed at that.

* * *

"I've only heard rumors and stories in prison about Bloodletter," Ritsuko said as she pounded away at the keys.

It's been about two hours since the VTOL pad, and Ritsuko was back in her old working clothes again, complete with a lab coat and mop of fresh blonde hair. Her hair had grown a bit and now she wore the back of it in a single low tail, leaving the bangs lose.

"I really think the killer is in NERV now," Misato explained. "How else could he be getting around all of Section-4 and the local cops on the surface and still make his kills unless he knows where they'd be and when?"

"It's possible the men are just unlucky," Ritsuko replied. "That and we might just be dealing with a monster, pure and simple. A monster such as this would be quite cunning and intelligent... Perhaps it's simply smart enough to avoid the patrols. And where are the bodies of the victims?"

"As far as we know... it eats them whole," Misato replied.

Ritsuko instantly stopped typing.

"Rits?" The Commander questioned.

"That's disturbing," she said covering her pause. But the real reason she paused was because the consumption reminded her of something that seemed like a lifetime ago... A time when a very young and naïve Ritsuko Akagi was trying to impress the Supreme Commander of NERV. She quickly checked to see if her old log-in still worked.

"I know, right," Misato replied. She sat on the counter facing away from the computer. "He's killed a lot of people, at least one a night, sometimes two a night."

"Hungry bastard," she commented as the log-in finished. The words on the screen made her heart skip a beat.

- [ CRYOSTASIS SYSTEM STATUS: OFFLINE ] -

"It's inconceivable, Rits," Misato continued. "This thing has to be stopped."

"Hey, have there been any renovations done in the lower labs?" Ritsuko asked, trying to get her rapidly beating heart under control.

"Not to my knowledge," Misato replied. "Why?"

"I had an old project I was working on down there, but it was off the main MAGI grid. I'm going to go check on it if you don't mind."

"Will it help with the current situation?"

"It just might," Ritsuko said, trying to sound reassuring.

"Go for it then," she replied immediately.

Ritsuko nodded and left in a hurry. But Misato was weary... Something wasn't right with her friend.

* * *

Ritsuko stood in the room where the cryostasis unit was located. It was worse than Ritusko had feared. The unit was shredded from the inside out, meaning the symbiote woke up and escaped its containment somehow.

"What the hell did I create?" Ritsuko asked herself. She wanted to impress Commander Ikari, and only succeeded in making a monster. She just wanted his affections...

What a mistake that was. After her mother's suicide, things went downhill for a young Ritsuko Akagi. Seems like the body hadn't even gone cold yet, when she started getting used by the same man she coveted from her mother. Things devolved from there, because there was no love... only pain. Ritsuko's monthly budget now had to take into account nearly 4000 yen (almost $50) in makeup expenses to hide the bruising of Gendo's "love". The bastard wouldn't even let her take it as a business expense, and yet it was the closest thing she had to real relationship and was loath to give it up.

She realized now what a fool she was. When he shot her on the pier in Terminal Dogma, he was doing her a favor. Then... Shinji brought her back. Beautiful, beautiful Shinji... So unlike his father, honorable, loyal, kind... He was everything his father should have been and never was.

This simple stunt to gain his affections had created something extraordinary. She wasn't willing to give that up... even after _he _ordered its destruction. She had to save it... It was a living thing. Oh, how naïve she was! If only she had known what that decision would mean in the future... If only she could have seen this coming, she would have destroyed the thing without hesitation.

So young... So young and innocent... Creating a living creature, constructing it from the raw DNA found in a crater. How she wished she never found the thing now...

"This is _my_ fault," she whispered as she fell to her knees. "This monster is my creation... but who has it bonded to? What poor soul is being used as a host for something so evil?"

* * *

**End of Chapter IV**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_


	5. Dissension, Part I

**V: Dissension, Part I**

* * *

Asuka stared at herself in the mirror... she'd been doing that a lot since she woke up. The muscle treatment was completed before her activation test and she saw she had her old body back. Nude, she stared at the muscles just beneath her skin and saw how they moved as she did. Each twisting of her back felt as if it forced more blood to the edges of her scars. She stared at her arm, remembering with vivid clarity the feeling of it being split in half like a banana prepared for the desert feast.

_'Feast... there certainly was one,' _she thought to herself as the feelings of being torn asunder echoed like a dull pain over her body. It felt like she still has cracks inside her body; through her bones, her muscles, her organs, across her skin and even into the depths of her very soul. The echo of pain reminded her of the most important part of her new existence.

She was incomplete...

Everything she felt she ever was died that day... That day that never really happened and yet, the memory remained with crystal clarity.

Her arms crossed over her breasts as she dropped to her knees before the mirror. Aside from the pain she felt, the revenant tortures of that lost day, she felt nothing at all.

No, that wasn't completely true... She felt something. The only thing she could feel was her affection for the Third Child of NERV. He held her yesterday... spoke to her... tried to tell her things would be okay. But his affections were hollow, little more than motions practiced to give assurance, and nothing more. She knew who had his heart she saw them on the Sea of LCL in that time that never was.

One in flesh... one in soul...

Why couldn't she have that? Why did the doll get such affection?

Her face turned to anger and a righteous rage filled her briefly. She got back to her feet and with a scream of rage she smashed the mirror with her bare fist, destroying the visage before her as a hated monster. She took a large shard of it in her hand and pointed it at her throat.

Why shouldn't she do it? For what more did she truly have to live?

She cut her arm instead, dragging the sharp shard of glass across her forearm and watched her blood run from the open wound. The pain of the new injury barely even registered to her, but watching the blood run made her feel better. It was a small bit of proof that she was still alive and not completely dead inside.

Asuka dropped the shard of mirror and went into the bathroom. She examined her cut up right hand and pulled the small slivers of mirrored glass from her knuckles and fingers.

_'I have no reason to exist... but he wanted me to live. For him and **only for him, **I will endure.'_

She wondered if Rei felt the same way once, before Third Impact.

* * *

Rei beckoned Shinji into her apartment. A visit from the young man was something she knew could help her banish her fears. Deep down she continued to replay the revelation from yesterday, but still tried to dismiss it. It had to be wrong, she wasn't a killer.

"Smells like you used an entire bottle of bleach in here," Shinji commented.

"Ah," Rei started, "well, I guess I might have gone a little overboard. You've always been better at cleaning than I."

"Because you usually don't clean," he pointed out.

Rei was silent a moment before she replied. "I never felt like there was a purpose to it before. I was created with the sole purpose of dying to create a controlled Impact." Her voice was subdued and Shinji thought for a moment that he had said something to upset her. But her voice cheered up as she finished her thought. "Now I understand what it means to enjoy being alive. I have you to thank for that."

Shinji smiled to her. "I'm glad. Asuka doesn't seem to think life is all that great."

Rei's face changed little but inside, something stirred. Her symbiotic partner was beginning to embody the darker parts of Rei's own psyche and the old hatred of the redhead was beginning to surface.

"She is mistaken," she said definitively.

"I know that, but..." Shinji sighed. "Asuka is convinced she has no purpose here anymore. She was still alive when the Impact released the AT Fields of the world."

Rei knew all about it already, she was the focal point of the impact. In her moments of omniscience, she saw everything.

_'She got what she deserved,' _Rei thought to herself, her hatred spurred on. '_Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? I can't. I'd agree that she should have stayed dead but having to suffer now being forced to be alive is even better.'_

"I don't understand why you feel sorry for her," Rei replied. "She never treated you like a person, always like a slave and a peon. You deserved better than that."

"How can you say that?" he countered. "She's still a human being! She's been through hell between her mother's suicide and all the shit that happened to us during the war."

"I don't care," Rei said in a dangerous tone. "I don't even know why you brought her back."

Shinji was shocked at the sudden turn of aggression from the normally quiet and kind girl. "What is wrong with you?" he demanded. "I know you and her weren't on the best of terms..."

"Best of terms?!" Rei nearly shouted back. "She hated me."

"She had childhood issues... She didn't like..." Shinji stopped himself.

"What?!" Rei yelled. "Say it! You were going to say she hated dolls. Am I still a doll Shinji-kun? Am I still a piece of plastic?!"

"I didn't—"

"You did. You most certainly thought it."

Shinji was silent.

"What do I have to do to convince you that I'm alive?!" she said in near tears.

"Rei, you're being unreasonable."

"No, I'm not! You never say what you mean! I'm a living thing, Shinji! I'm not a doll!"

Both of their cellphones beeped at the same time indicating a new message. Both froze as they realized the implication, and grabbed their devices. Rei tried to read the message but was busy keeping the tears out of her eyes.

- [ REPORT TO NERV IMMEDIATELY ] -

"I never saw you as a doll," Shinji whispered, pulling Rei out of her thoughts about what the message meant. "And I wish you would bury your hate." He left at that, leaving Rei to recover from her emotional outbursts.

_'Why did I act like that? Shinji was right... I was being unreasonable...'_

* * *

Less than an hour later, the pilots were in a briefing room in their plug suits. Asuka felt a little better now that she was wearing it again. It was very similar to her old suit since her body changed very little from before her coma. She saw Rei's changed little as well, but the girl did manage to pick up some height.

_'As if things weren't bad enough,' _she thought to herself, '_I'm stuck looking like a child.'_

Of course that wasn't entirely true. She looked like an adult, albeit one that was somewhat smaller than average, but Asuka knew she still had some growing to do. That growth was killed when she went into her coma during the last quarter of her developmental years.

Shinji's plugsuit had a lot more black in it than she remembered, and he wore it better now. His body had developed well and she remembered feeling his defined though seemingly understated muscles when she sought his comfort.

But more interestingly she noted, the two of them seemed less touchy today. Rei and Shinji seemed to be keeping their distance from each other for the time being. Did they have a lover's quarrel?

_'Aw... that's so sad,' _she sarcastically thought with an inward smile.

"We've been issued an A-21," Misato began as a map of Canada appeared on the main screen. It zoomed in on the southern side of British Colombia on the west coast. "Members of a revolutionary group calling themselves _'_Mouvement de la Résistance Intérieure', which I'm almost sure I pronounced wrong because I don't speak French, have contacted us asking for assistance. The United States has managed to subvert all of Canada but the resistance is strong. Our task will be to liberate Vancouver in perpetration for a possible JSSDF offensive into Washington state."

"Okay, question," Shinji interrupted as the briefing continued and the map zoomed in on the city including its surrounding territories. "Alaska is a state too and its a bit closer to us than anything on the continental side. Shouldn't we be focusing there first?"

"Normally I'd agree," Commander Katsuragi explained, "but Alaska and Hawaii for that matter both ceded from the US when Cartigan took control. Hawaii has already asked us for protection though they have control over most of the US's former Pacific Fleet so its not likely they're going to be attacked just yet. US forces haven't pushed far enough north to retake Alaska just yet so its not a problem for now."

She immediately resumed the briefing. "Despite Vancouver being a coastal city, the presence of Vancouver Island mostly protected it during Second Impact, taking most of the flooding in its stead. The city has a retaining wall along the coastal side to protect from further flooding but the EVA's can make it over the wall easily. The Americans have yet to fully solidify their hold on this area, so this should be easy enough. Any questions?"

"What's the risk of collateral damage?" Shinji asked immediately.

"Moderate," Maya replied. She was off to the left near the terminals. "Most of the residence evacuated as soon as they saw the American tanks cross the border but not everyone made it out. Also, there are resistance fighters in the city. They're concentrated in the north, but don't be surprised if you see some closer to the south."

"We've been waiting for a chance to get into the war," Misato continued, "and now we have it. Time to show the world what we can do."

* * *

Several hours later, Rei was walking the streets of Vancouver behind the controls of EVA-15. Ducking behind a building, she peeked out and saw a tank a few streets down. Satellite data showed there were two others nearby around the corner.

_'If I'm really a killer, why am I hesitating?' _she thought. She closed her eyes and saw the scene play out in her mind again; an innocent woman, black tendrils, blood...

She didn't even realize she had zoned out until an alert on her console woke her up. Someone launched a missile at her. She quickly fired her boosters and took the corner hard heading straight for the tank. An arm-mounted Progressive Blade extended from her left arm and she cut through the tank as she passed it. The explosion of the tank drew the heat-seeking projectiles to it like moths to the flame.

"Damn it, Rei!" Maya yelled. "What the hell was that?! Get your head in the game!"

"As Shinji is so fond of pointing out, Major," Rei retorted. "This is not a game."

_They will kill you if you give them the chance._

Rei took the next corner hard, sliding to a stop as four tanks brought their cannons to bear. Her Gatling Cannons dropped over her shoulders. "They're only human," she whispered.

_Trained monsters... Killers... You must kill them first!_

Rei didn't hesitate and unleashed the full fury of 30mm mixed Armor-Piercing and Explosive-Tipped death. The tanks were shredded into sparking and flaming metal before they could fire.

She was about to push forward when a sudden massive pain struck her left arm. Without realizing what just happened, she has lost the arm of her unit and felt her real arm go numb from the link. She gasped in pain and tried to duck around the corner only to feel another howitzer shell slam into her unit, dealing massive damage to the already wounded shoulder.

"Rei! What's your status?"

"Hurting," she replied, in a strained voice. "Left arm and shoulder completely destroyed. Gyro stabilization system is malfunctioning and my main cannons are offline."

"Get out of there. You can't keep fighting like that."

As soon as Rei tried to make a break for it, several more shells rained down on the area, one hitting her power generator. Seeing no choice she ejected the plug, the spherical metal housing launched from the back of the unit and began to roll, but this time the inner sphere remained upright.

It rolled a good distance hitting a few buildings and finally coming to rest on its single flat surface. The door blew open and Rei jumped out, shaking out the numbness in her arm and chest. Unlike the activation experiment, the shock absorption system worked, allowing her to escape without injury.

Rei hid in the ruins of a building, realizing just how much like World War II everything was starting to look. Between the bombs, artillery and in suburban fighting, Vancouver was looking more like 1945 Berlin.

"Or post-blitz London," she commented sadly.

Suddenly her senses became aware. Men were approaching from multiple directions... She was being hunted.

"Ayanami, requesting extraction, over," she transmitted.

"Negative, pilot," the operator replied, "Your area is compromised, proceed west towards the retaining wall, your extraction point is at section 076, over."

"Acknowledged," she said then ran. Moments later, she heard the kick of an assault rifle and barely managed to get into cover. Popping her built in pack, she withdrew a SIG 220 9mm pistol and released the safety. Shots whizzed over her head and she blindly returned fire before making a break for further cover.

She managed to get close to a half mile before she ran into the ruins of a toppled structure that blocked her escape.

"Damn," she whispered and turned around in time to see seven American servicemen with M-16's leveled at her.

"Gotcha you chink bitch," he said in English.

_They insult us..._

"An Evangelion Pilot will make a damn fine trophy for the General," one of them said as he got closer.

_Are you a trophy to them Rei?_

"We could have a little fun with her first," one of the privates suggested.

_Will you be their doll?_

Rei's eyes narrowed down. _"We will kill them all..."_

"You've got this situation confused," she countered. You don't have us..."

"Us?" one of them asked.

"We've go_t y__**ou!**__" _As her voice shifted, black tendrils shot from her stomach and back as the liquid exo-skin quickly poured over her plugsuit.

The soldiers opened fire, but the whipping tendrils absorbed and slowed the projectiles making them ineffective. She leaped upon the nearest soldier grabbing him and opening her mouth, revealing a row of pointed teeth. She took his entire arm into her mouth as she bit down. Her massive teeth tore through flesh and bone with equal ferocity as the man howled in agony. Severing his arm and taking a massive chunk of his shoulder and chest, she thew him aside like a useless piece of meat as she swallowed her snack. Throwing out a tendril from her left hand, she grabbed the next nearest target.

The other five soldiers backed off and kept firing, but the bullets were hitting her with wet thuds, unable to penetrate the black nearly-liquid exo-skin of this monster. The second soldier was pulled in and thrown into his buddies, knocking over two. Venom then leapt upon a third one where she proceeded to pull him inside and consume his entire body, spraying his blood upon his nearby friend as the compression finished the absorption.

Two dead already, the three that fell upon impact were trying to get up, But the one that Venom threw was hurt and couldn't escape. A tendril caught him and threw him into the air. He fell to earth, impacting on an exposed girder from a destroyed building. It was a pose Vlad the Impaler would have been amused to see.

The men broke and ran in pairs. Venom chose one set and used a tendril to swing onto the rooftops nearby. When they looked back to try to find her again, there was no sign of her.

"Where the fuck did it go?!" one of them whispered. They turned almost back to back, aiming their weapon everywhere they were looking. The second man looked back and saw that his partner was gone.

"Doug?" he asked tentatively. The next thing he knew a tendril had wrapped around his head and he was being pulled up. His hand held down the trigger and pointed the weapon up, screaming the whole way up before he felt the pressure close around him and then knew nothing further.

The last two ran into an alleyway and saw too late it was a dead end. They turned around in time to see Venom running on all-fours along the side of the building, tongue flailing out of her mouth as she got closer.

"What the fuck are you?!", one of them yelled as they held the trigger down. Venom jumped form wall to wall, throwing off their aim. Tendrils whipped outwards blocking shots that she couldn't effectively dodge. They didn't stop firing until it their guns went 'click'. The first private was grabbed around the waist by a tendril and used as a battering ram in a feeble attempt to destroy a nearby building. His face was a bloody ruin and his bones were reduced to nearly dust by the time he stopped screaming. The last cowered in the alleyway as he heard the monster approach. He whimpered louder as he felt the tongue lick his face, but the sound was cut off a moment later as he was eaten and reduced to a mere bloodstain.

Venom roared her victory to the sky, tongue flailing in the air. A few moments later the exo-skin pulled itself back inside Rei, causing her to drop to her knees. Though she watched everything happen, it felt as if she had just awoken form one of her nightmares. This time the evidence that what she saw was real, and spread all around her. Blood dripped from the walls, the broken body of the living flail lay nearby and a bloodstain that was all that remained of the last victim was still running down a nearby wall.

"Oh... Oh Kami... What's in me?"

She clutched her chest as she realized now why she hadn't had much of an appetite lately. There was no denying it now... She was possessed by something.

"What the hell is inside of me?!" she screamed.

_Hahahaha... You'd think you'd be a bit more grateful since I just saved our lives._

"What the hell are you?" Rei asked as her heart began beating faster in response to the voice in her mind.

_I'm the thing that's giving you your life back. You think it's a coincidence that ever since your activation experiment you're stronger, faster, smarter than ever? Nope, all me. And soon... all us._

"Us?!"

_Heheheh, yeah, that's right... US... I'm a symbiote; alone I have no real power. But with the perfect host... On this world, I'm a god._

"You... You made me kill those people..."

_Now, I can't take all the credit for that, my little repressed princess. You've got an evil mind on your own... I just tapped into it. See, when they made you and tried to control you, they locked up a big part of who and what you are. I tapped into that and you know what I found? The mind of a monster... A monster just... like... me!_

"Lies!" she shouted. "I won't listen to this!" Rei held her hands over her ears and lowered her head to the ground.

_Like you have a choice, you and I are bonded now. And though you're being a bit of a fuss-pot now, you'll come around and see things my way... Once that happens, you and I will become 'we'. An together, we can be so much more._

She began to cry again as she realized she truly had no control. "I... I can't live like this... I can't..."

_Yes, you can. As soon as you realize what I have given to you, you'll see things in a whole new light..._

* * *

Rei eventually managed to pick herself back up to her feet and make the rendezvous at the extraction point. The mission was a success, even with Rei's EVA taken down. Vancouver was liberated. The wreckage of EVA-15 was retrieved and the engineers determined it could be repaired.

In NERV Central, Rei spent her entire debriefing silent, with the exception of responding when it was expected. Never once did the fact that she was the killer known as "Bloodletter" or that she was carrying some kind of symbiotic organism in her body enter the conversation. As soon as she was finished there, she headed straight for the labs in Terminal Dogma.

_Oh? What's this? Gonna try to evict me?_

"I can't live with myself knowing you're making me a killer," she replied.

_Oh that's rich. I needed the food and you certainly didn't have any objections before._

"You're lying!" she cut back. "I had nothing to do with that! You were controlling me!"

_HAHAHA! I can't make you do anything you aren't already mentally capable of doing! That's not how this works at all! If I did try to control your mind, the movements would be jerky, inefficient. All I do is tap into your primal instincts you have being half-angel and give the beast inside you a little nudge in the right direction. Everything else is all you babe! Not my fault you can't control the beast._

"Shut up! I'm not listening to anymore of your bullshit!"

_You think Ritsuko's bag of trick is going to save your soul? News flash kiddo, she made me!_

Rei froze at the door to the lab when she heard those words. "What?" she whispered.

_Hahahaha! It's true! Well, to be honest, I already existed once, but her modifications resurrected me and made me stronger. You see, she found what was left of me in a crater made by the Second Impact. When that prime fuck-head Adam got woken up, his awakening shook the cosmos itself. I was killed on my homeworld and my remains deposited on a floating rock and sent adrift in space. No idea how long ago that was but I ended up here. She used my DNA to reconstruct me._

_Originally, she wanted me to be a supplement to the EVA program but some douchebag named Gendo rejected the idea and I was put on ice. I didn't like that bastard anyway, and I get the impression from your memories he wasn't well liked by anybody._

"Stay out of my memories," Rei demanded.

_Tough, titties, I'm here and I can't just shut them off. Anyway, let me get back on track here._

Rei entered the lab and found the bag Ritsuko had on the table.

_Gendo wanted me destroyed, but Ritsuko put me on ice, presumably to finish what she started later... Problem is the bitch never could get the temperature down to Absolute Zero so I've been awake all this time... The past 15 years might as well have been 15 centuries because of how slow I perceived time. Every so often she'd visit me... and I glean some new information from her mind. You know she hated you, right? But you never knew why, did ya?_

"I don't care," she said as she pulled a small silver case out of the bag.

_Of course you care,_ Venom retorted, _You're trying to be more human now aren't you? She saw you as a rival for the affections of Gendo Ikari back when she still wanted what her mother possessed. Kinda sick when you think about it, eh?_

Rei shuddered when she thought about it. Gendo had come close to using her to satisfy his urges but he refused to go through with it. Despite thinking of her as a tool, she looked too much like Yui to justify raping her. At the time, she would have let him take her without question, being the obedient little doll she was.

Doll... She hated that word. Asuka was afraid of dolls, but Rei simply hated the connection between herself and the inanimate mockeries of life. She knew now that her hatred was being spurred on by Venom.

Rei removed the syringe. It was a nasty little drug Ritsuko developed to remove all foreign contaminants and DNA from Rei's bloodstream. She got the shot often when she was a child and her genetic structure wasn't completely stabilized yet. It hurt but it always worked like a charm. Ritsuko once told her the shots would remain potent for a century, not that they needed to be.

"Get the hell out of me," she demanded and injected herself. It was like pouring battery acid into her bloodstream. She cried out in pain and curled on the ground. She didn't remember it hurting this badly before.

_Oh, the pain! The pain! _Venom said mockingly. _What have you done?! I'm melting! Oh what a world, what a world._

The pain subsided seconds later causing Rei to cry out in anger and frustration. "Why won't you die?!" She stripped out of her plugsuit and grabbed a surgical knife from the table.

_Oh ho! The direct approach! I like your chutzpah! Here I'll give you a target!_

A black mass started showing up just below the skin. Rei immediately cut there, but the mass had moved on, causing her only pain when she cut her own skin. Her blood ran from the newly inflicted wound.

_Oh, so close! Come on, try again._

This time the mass was on her leg. She cut without hesitation gasping as the blade tore into her flesh again, but the mass of black was gone. She saw it show up elsewhere and she kept trying to get at it.

Minutes later, Ritsuko entered the lab area and heard sobbing. She ran into the room and gasped in shock at what she saw there.

Rei was kneeling in the middle of the room naked. Her plugsuit abandoned somewhere to her left. A blade had fallen out of her hand and she was kneeling in a puddle of her own blood. As she sobbed quietly, she bleed from multiple cuts and stab wounds that were obviously self-inflicted. Black motes like maggots and worms crawled all over her just below the skin in places where the blade had never touched.

"Rei," she asked tentatively, though she recognized the dark masses creeping though her.

"You..." Rei whispered between sobs. "You did this to me."

"Rei I—"

"_**Damn you!"**_ she screamed in an alien voice and leap upon her. Ritsuko's back hit the floor and the force of impact knocked the wind out of her. When she opened her eyes Venom was staring her in the face. Her claws pinning her shoulders and her feet pinned her ankles uncomfortably to the ground.

"Rei," she whispered. "Please, calm down."

"_**Rei isn't here right now,"**_ she hissed, _**"Call me Venom."**_

"Venom," she corrected calmly. "I'm not your enemy."

"_**Of course you aren't," **_she replied. _**"You're the reason I'm alive. That's the only reason I'm letting you live you crone."**_

"Please let her go," she pleaded. "Rei is not compatible with you... I can find you a better host, just please leave her alone!"

"_**Oh, I don't think so, bitch," **_she countered. _**"Rei is mine, and we are becoming as one. Her repression has created a monster in her own mind... One I can understand and use to my advantage. I'll NEVER let that go."**_

Ritsuko tried to bite back the fear but it was obvious Venom smelled it.

"_**Ah, I love that aroma! It really gets the blood pumping! Don't worry, I won't kill you... But maybe I can afford just a small taste..." **_Her tongue ran over Ritsuko's neck as she brought her teeth closer to Ritsuko's shoulder.

But before she could bite down, she seemed to suddenly lose control over herself. She threw herself off of Ritsuko allowing the doctor to scramble back to her feet. Venom got back to her knees and shrieked as her host suddenly forced her inward. Moments later, the last of the exo-skin was submerged. Ritsuko saw no signs of the earlier cuts on her body.

"Are you alright?" Ritsuko asked her.

"Does it look like I'm alright, Doctor?" she said with obvious aggression in her voice. "I'm host to a genetically-enhanced alien symbiote that's tapping into the most primal parts of my half-angelic mind. It's forcing me to kill and consume an average of one innocent person a night, dredging up my worst memories, and making me question reality on a daily basis. So, why don't you tell me... Do I fucking look alright to you?!"

Ritsuko approached her. "Look, I created this thing. I can help you get rid of it." She held a hand down to her. "Please let me help—"

Rei smacked her hand as she got up on her own and went for her plug suit.

"You've done enough..."

Ritsuko watched her pad her way back to the elevator. Rei started to put her plugsuit back on while she waited for the slow conveyance. The doctor stood against the wall, putting a hand on her rapidly beating heart, trying to calm down.

She knew she couldn't let Rei go like that but she knew she didn't have the power to stop it. As soon a she was in the elevator, Ritsuko grabbed her phone and dialed Misato.

"Commander Katsuragi," she said when she picked up.

"Misato... it's me."

"Rits? You okay? You sound scared."

"I don't have time to explain right now, but have Section-2 arrest Rei. She just entered Elevator 14."

"Arrest her? Why?"

Ritsuko paused. "Because... she's the one we're looking for. Rei is The Bloodletter."

**To be continued...**

* * *

**End of Chapter V**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_

* * *

**A/N: **The next part will consist of chapters 6 through 10.


	6. Dissension, Part II

**VI: Dissension, Part II**

* * *

"Misato... it's me," Ritsuko said, her voice still shaky over the line.

"Rits?" the commander responded. "You okay? You sound scared."

"I don't have time to explain right now, but have Section-2 arrest Rei. She just entered Elevator 14."

"Arrest her? Why?"

Ritsuko paused. "Because... she's the one we're looking for. Rei is The Bloodletter." She paused for a moment and regained her breath, hearing only silence on the other end. "Make sure they're using hyper-velocity ammunition or at least armor-piercing. I don't think anything short of that has a chance of harming her."

"Wait, slow down. What do you mean Rei is the Bloodletter? That's crazy!"

"It's a symbiote, Misato," Ritsuko explained desperately. "And it;s my fault it exists. Just trust me!"

Misato had to make a snap decision. What Ritsuko was saying was insane though. How someone so small could be able to eat as many as two grown people in a day didn't make sense to her at all. But Ritsuko wouldn't lie about something like this.

She hit the emergency button on her console.

"Tashima," came a voice over the speaker.

"This is Supreme Commander Katsuragi," she said with authority. "Pilot Ayanami is in elevator one four. Arrest her. Have your men standby with HV or AP ammo."

Tashima didn't question the order. "Understood. We're tracking the elevator now. It's heading for the surface level."

"If she resists, Major, shoot to stop, not kill if possible. I want her alive."

"Acknowledged," the speaker went dead.

"I have them dispatched Rits," Misato said after picking the phone back up. "Now tell me what happened."

* * *

Rei stood in the elevator against the wall with her arms crossed.

_You really think they're gonna just let us walk out of here. That bitch probably already snitched on us._

"Shut up," Rei snapped. "If my life is fucked up because of this, it's your fault, not mine."

_Still trying to think you're just along for the ride...? How pathetic! Own up to it, missy! You're just as fucked in the head as me! Hahahaha!_

"I said SHUT UP!" Rei punched the wall hard enough to dent it a few centimeters. The shock of realizing what she just did, specifically denting hard steel, ended her fit of rage.

_Well, would ya look at that! You're already starting to get the strength we have when we're out and about and I'm not even active right now. That means we'll be even stronger when I'm active._

"Let's get one thing straight," Rei whispered as she lowered her hand. "There is no 'we'... There is no 'us'... There is 'you' and there is 'me'."

_Hahaha! Keep thinking that. It's funny._

Suddenly the elevator lurched to a halt. Rei immediately went on edge. The elevators in NERV almost never malfunction, meaning Section-2 stopped it to prepare an ambush on the surface.

_Told ya._

"You're not helping."

_Then let me. We can take these guys easily, 'you and I'. Then we can get out of here and start discussing our... situation._

"You'll kill them."

_WE! We'll kill them. Stop trying to push the blame on me. Besides, what're a few meat sacks in the grand scheme of things? After all, if you let them kill or capture you, think of what you'll lose._

Her mind dredged up a recent memory... Shinji with her in her apartment. She felt his touch again, saw his beautiful face...

"Damn you," she whispered as a tear broke free from her eye. The elevator started moving again.

_No. Damn 'us'._

The black exo-skin began to bleed from the already made holes in the plugsuit and began to coat over her body.

"We can't live without him," Rei whispered... only dimly aware of the fact that she said 'we'.

Outside the elevator, there were a dozen Section-2 Agents with automatic weapons forming a semi-circle of death. They were told that Bloodletter was in there, and that he might look like Rei, but it was a ruse. They were told to shoot if he resists but kill only if necessary.

The tension was high as the elevator arrived on that floor, each man knowing they were in danger. The chime rang... the doors began to open and the sounds of many bolts and hammers locking reverberated.

The elevator was empty. Two of the men, armed with pistols walked forward carefully, but saw nothing inside.

"Where did he go?" one of the men asked. The men turned as the doors closed, but only one of the men in the back noticed that the elevator immediately started going down.

"Oh... shit," he said as he raised his weapon again. The doors to the now open shaft were torn aside and the two men standing near the doors were pulled into the shaft. Screaming was heard a few moments before the slamming sound of the men impacting the roof of the elevator. The face of Venom was visible in the hole now, inverted, and her long tongue taunted the men.

They opened fire and Venom pulled back into the shaft back to hanging on the inside wall of the shaft with her back to it. She watched idly as the bullets penetrated the remnants of the steel doors with little effort and imbedded themselves in the wall of the shaft.

"_Armor-piercing rounds,"_ Rei noted.

_That's a problem, _Venom replied. _I can only protect us from so much._

"_Feeling lucky?"_

Venom dropped onto the back wall of the shaft and in plain view of her attackers. Before the men were able to react she launched two tendrils out and grabbed the two nearest men. The others opened fire without thinking. The bullets shredded the two men, but their velocities were stunted by the bodies enough for Venom to deflect the shots with more tendrils. She kicked off the wall hard, rolling as she exited the shaft, and released a series of tendrils in a whip-like motion. Though she took a few shots, none were lethal and she pushed down the pain, continuing the assault.

The whipping tendrils snapped bones, tore flesh and threw bodies like rag dolls. The men backed off briefly, only to realize they were the only line of defense from unleashing this monster on the surface. As soon as they got their distance, they opened fire again. Venom dodged their shots by side flipping, rolling in midair and jumping form wall to ceiling and floor, and back again. Landing in a crouched position, she launched a tendril behind without looking, grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall and throwing it forward. A stray bullet hit it less than 5' from the front of the firing line. The pressurized explosion threw several of the Section-2 people back and killed two more with shrapnel. Running on all fours, Venom made a dash for the escalator to the surface.

More men were waiting for her at the top however. The volume of fire was getting almost impossible to deal with. Seeing no choice she launched her tendrils into the high ceiling and swung upwards dodging as best she could. She bounced off of the wall and ceiling occasionally to avoid further fire, but took a few more hits anyway. Though she was in pain, she kept going until she finally reached the sealed doors where yet more men waited for her.

_We ain't gettin' out that way..._

"_Watch us," _Rei countered.

Venom dodged the opening barrage by leaping over it. She let loose more tendrils from her arms, grabbing two people with each hand and violently throwing them aside, taking out a few more in the process. Then she went for the nearby truck. She grabbed it as more bullets pierced her body and managed to pick it up by the front.

"What the hell is it?!" she heard one of them screaming at the display of raw strength. With a grunt of effort and spent adrenaline, she threw the entire vehicle into the doors with enough force to partially rip the massive steel plates out of the tracks. The following explosion that followed finished the job of making an opening, as well as silencing the annoying gunfire. Venom ran through the opening without hesitation.

_Nice._

* * *

"Damn it!" Misato yelled as her hands slammed down on her desk. She watched the entire exchange on the monitors. "How the hell do we fight something like that?!"

Ritsuko walked into the room at that point, looking grim.

"I'll assume by your reaction to the monitor that the attempted apprehension of the target didn't go as planned," she said darkly.

"What the hell did you create, Rits?" the commander demanded.

Ritsuko sighed. "I'll start at the beginning..."

* * *

On top of a roof near the outskirts of the city, Rei stood in her ragged plugsuit, reflecting on the murder and mayhem she caused today.

_You're better at this than even __**I **__thought you'd be._

"Shut up," she replied. "I hate you. You turned me into a monster and now my life is over."

_Someone isn't keeping up. I told you I didn't turn you into a monster._

"Yes, you did. I may have had the potential, but it would have stayed asleep within me if you hadn't woken it up. There were a lot of things I buried after Third Impact that I didn't want out again, but you had to dredge it all to the surface. I want you out of me." Her voice suddenly elated to a yell. "Do you hear me?! I'm done with this shit!"

There was a silence from the symbiote and for a moment Rei thought she finally made her point.

_Well, I guess there was no avoiding this. You're gonna see things my way, one way or another._

"What do you—" Rei's thought was cut short as a massive pain seized her lower stomach, her hands crossed over that sensitive part of her body, just barely an inch below her naval and she cried out in pain.

_Pain is a crude teacher, but it's effective. I'm gonna torture the hell out of you now. I'm not sure when I'll stop. I may not be able to control your actions, but I can and will make your life a living hell._

"It... it f-feels like your driving—" she gasped in pain again before she could finish the thought. "Driving blades into my core."

_You still have an S__2__, did you know that? _[A/N: not sure if superscript is a viable format in story, I might have to replace it with S^2]

"Y-You... You're raping me!" Rei cried. "Get out of me! P-Please stop!" Tears broke from her eyes and raced down her face as she fell forward. She balled up on her side and tried to push out the pain, but Venom only intensified it causing her to scream louder.

_Had enough? Ready to listen to me now?_

Rei's gasps of pain were punctuated by the exo-skin appearing on her back and rippling uncontrollably. With a last gasp as if a blade was being pulled out of her, a chunk of the exo-skin ripped free and crawled off on its own.

Rei tried to talk but was left breathless by the experience. She didn't even know what happened to her.

_I don't know about you, but I'm ready for round two._

"No..." Rei whispered pitifully. "No more, please."

_Disappointing actually, you're submitting already. Then again, you're used to being a doll... Manipulated by stronger beings all the time and being told what to do. So this must be natural for you... having another powerful being ruling your entire existence._

"Bitch," she whispered. "You... hurt me. You took something from me and made another symbiote. I felt it leaving us."

_It doesn't matter. That thing is just a byproduct that won't live more than a few hours tops. You gonna start listening to me or what?_

Rei cried, signaling her submission to Venom. Inside the symbiote smiled.

_I see we have an understanding now. Once night falls, I'm gonna need to eat... and eat well. I used a lot of energy keeping us alive today._

Rei knew that meant she would kill again. The cycle would continue, and she would never escape...

Unseen by Venom and Rei, the new symbiote crawled down inside the building into its foundation and reached the rails that lifted and lowered the building, allowing it to penetrate the armor layers over the Geofront with relative ease. As soon as it reached the lowest layer, it pushed though the small cracks in the armor layer and dropped from the top of the Geofront.

As it fell, it barely missed the wires that provided light into the enormous cavern and balloned itself, widening its surface area to slow its decent a little before it reached a pyramid structure. It crawled over the pyramid and eventually found a tiny crack, and it wormed its way into NERV Central.

* * *

Ritusko finished her explanation to a very much unhappy Commander Katsuragi.

"I don't believe this," Misato commented. "You know, when most girls want to get the attention of a guy they really like they wear sexy perfume, maybe show a little more cleavage. But you made a psychotic killing machine. Admittedly it seems appropriate where Gendo is concerned, but that's besides the point."

"I would have been able to keep the damn thing on ice if I was still working here. Not like I planned on getting myself arrested, you know," the doctor countered. "Or shot."

Misato bit her tongue.

"I was an ambitious... driven... ultimately foolish girl." Ritsuko sighed. "I understand that now, of course, and I know I should have done what I was told and destroyed it. Now I have the deaths of several civilians, a couple of politicians, and a lot of our own men on my conscience."

"Rits, I—"

"No, you're right. I should never have created it in the first place."

Misato was silent for a moment before she finally spoke.

"Well, since you made it, do you know any weaknesses it might have?"

"I surmised AP and HV ammo would work," Ritusko began, "but that isn't all. Unfortunately, we didn't have anything to exploit its actual weaknesses at the time."

"What weaknesses?"

"To be completely honest, I have no idea if they are actual weaknesses. Back when I created this thing, the technology needed to effectively 'read' a genome was still fairly new. But if I'm right, the symbiote should be susceptible to certain forms of intense energy."

Misato made a face, one that advertised her mere partial understanding. "What sorts of energy are we talking about?"

"Intense levels of heat and sonic energy, basically fire and intensified noise. Flamethrowers would be very effective and they're a simple weapon. The problem is Bloodletter's extreme reach, as displayed by the surveillance video, can nullify their effectiveness. It may be possible to develop a form of sonic shockwave cannon, but that could take years. I'm no MacGyver after all. I can't whip something like that up with a bunch of paperclips, a circuit board, and some duct tape."

"Then set a damn speed record," Misato replied with an edge to her voice. "I don't care what has to happen, I need something to take her down, and I need it now!"

The intensity of Misato's words hit her pretty hard, only because when Gendo was pissed, he never raised his voice. Instead the old Bastard King would take a dangerous tone, often lower not higher. Misato however, was a lot more emotional and energetic, hence when she was upset, she had a tendency to yell.

"Yes, Commander," Ritsuko replied, but said it out of respect and understanding of just how dire the situation was rather than any sarcasm she might normally use when yelled at by her best friend.

Misato, realizing she was getting worked up, closed her eyes and took a breath. "Kami... Shinji is gonna freak when he hears what Rei's become."

Ritsuko blinked. "I... had no idea they were together."

"She's all he really has, Rits," Misato explained. "And I'm certain that goes both ways."

Ritsuko frowned, realizing what this will do to the young Ikari. Misato's phone ringing pulled her from that thought.

Misato hit the speakerphone. "Go," she commanded.

"Section-4 has located Bloodletter. She's moving south on Katoma Road towards the still devastated parts of Tokyo-3. We're in position to take her down."

Ritsuko shook her head knowing what will happen if Misato ordered them to move in.

Misato looked at her levelly. "They have to try," she whispered. "Proceed. Take her out."

"I thought you wanted her alive?" Ritsuko protested.

"We tried to take her by going for non-lethal shots and she killed nearly 20 people. I can't take anymore chances, Rits... She's a murderer and she's got to be stopped."

Rits tried to think of something to counter but was unable to do so. In the background, she barely recognized the local news station reporting that the US was losing control over Canada thanks to the JSSDF intervention and that they were also having issues taking Mexico.

"We have no choice," Misato said with finality as she watched Ritsuko try to formulate a reply. "Rei must die."

* * *

Venom jumped from the rooftop and launched a tendril out catching another building. She swung in a low arc trying not to get above the twelfth floor or so. Suddenly she was hit in the back with a high-caliber round. She felt her back rip open, but the exo-skin was already covering the wound. It did break her concentration and sent her to the ground. She rolled a few times before stopping on all fours facing the direction the shot came from.

"Open fire!" she heard a gruff voice yell and immediately moved as more lead flew in her direction.

"_I should let them kill us," _she thought sadly.

_You won't. But why don't we horrify them while we're at it._

Venom leapt upon one of the nearby vehicles and used the vehicle's suspension to propel herself upwards. Grabbing the building she crawled around it avoiding gunfire and then dropped onto a lower building's roof, where three gunmen opened fire upon her. She dodged the first wave of shots and used her tendrils to knock away two of the shooters. Then, while in full view of the quickly closing helicopters, she launched more out of her chest and, stomach and devoured the last one whole. Her body compressed sending a burst of blood from the quickly closings seam in the skin.

Misato, far underground in NERV Central, looked away after seeing exactly how Bloodletter feeds.

The sudden influx of raw organic matter boosted Venom's energy level. She jumped on the second man and disemboweled him with her claws. The third was thrown off of the building onto one of the APC's stopping at the base of the structure. Shots suddenly tore through Venom's body as the gunner on the helicopter opened fire, but the extra organic matter Venom had now made regeneration so quick, the shots were a mere suggestion of pain.

Venom's feet grew clawed and she gripped the roof deeply enough to hit a support strut. Then she fired off two more tendrils which grabbed the helicopter by the landing skids and wrenched it down into Katoma Road below. The impact crushed it, sending shrapnel in all directions and flames from the unspent fuel into the sky. In a mere 45 seconds from the first shot, Venom made the streets look like a warzone.

The volume of fire was getting worse now. Men were positioned on buildings everywhere around her, and Venom had to concede that her best chance at victory was to shift from murder mode to survival mode. She ran as fast as she could towards one of the edges, jumping across the street and directly into the alleyway. In the maze of back alleys and destroyed buildings in this part of the city, she would be able to avoid any additional helicopters.

"_I feel sick..."_

_Stop complaining, we're alive, aren't we?_

"_It doesn't matter. Shinji will reject me now. He'll find out soon enough what I am and he will reject me."_

_You love him and yet you don't know him at all. He won't reject you..._

"_Since when do you care?"_ Rei questioned the symbiote.

_I don't._

After dodging even more gunfire Venom managed to make it into the worst areas of downtown Tokyo-3's 'yet to be rebuilt' district. Silently, she entered the drainage system and simply vanished from Section-4. After traveling for what felt like miles through the surprisingly clean water tunnels she stopped and dropped to her knees.

The exo-skin peeled from her face but the rest of it stayed on. Uncontrollably, Rei began crying.

"Don't you see what this is doing to me?!" she cried out. "I can't live like this."

For once, the symbiote had nothing to say to her, letting her cry.

"Damn you," she whispered. "Say something."

_There is nothing to say that we don't already know. All that matters now is that we're alive._

"Such as that life is."

_Oh, grow up already. You don't know how good you have it right now._

"You must be joking... I'm host to a murderous symbiote that's dragging my dark side out, my own people want me dead, and, oh yeah... you _raped_ me! For all intents and purposes, you violated the sanctity of my body."

_HAHAHAH! Sanctity?! You're a half-breed of a pitiful meat sack and an angel, and you have the gall to think your body is sacred? You weren't even born. You were created in a laboratory..._

"So were you," Rei pointed out.

_Ritsuko didn't make me, she just modified me._

"And my soul is derived from Lilith... I could say the same."

_This isn't semantics, babe. You're in a different league all together. Let's drop the bullshit already. You were damaged goods long ago. Just because our boyfriend pushed the great reset button doesn't mean you were purged of that._

"What did you just say?" Rei said with a slight blush.

_I said you're in__—_

"No," Rei interrupted. "About who he is to 'us'."

The symbiote went silent realizing what she said.

Rei was embarrassed by the implication but suddenly realized something. "So... this whole 'You and I shall become We' thing works both ways, doesn't it?"

_You don't know what you're talking about._

"Oh, I don't, huh? We'll see about that."

_Enough about that. We need to get out of the city._

"I'm not leaving the city until we find the other symbiote."

_Forget it, it's pointless. Besides it won't live very long, it only has a fraction of the amount of life energy needed to survive. It'd have to bond directly with a life-giving medium at this point to even have a chance._

* * *

Blood splattered across Asuka's face as the cut was made. She idly watched it, realizing she probably hit a vessel of some kind, but it wasn't as bad as it appeared to be, and it actually felt pretty good.

Kaji never came back... He stayed dead because he died so long before the Impact took place. Shinji would forever belong to Rei at this rate and that left her with nothing. Trapped in the body of a child and stuck with a life she didn't want, yet honor bound to stay alive. She would pass her time causing herself pain and trying to get the nerve to bring herself closer to death without crossing the threshold. She wanted to feel the sweet release and at the very minimum get a taste of what it was like beyond the veil.

_You think this is a __**gift?!**_

It was a joke... Life had become a parody of what it once was. Everything she ever truly knew or cared about died in the day that never was, a day virtually no one will remember, but a few will never forget. She closed her eyes and saw the lances piercing her body, thrown from the monstrous MP Evas.

_I was alive up until the point my soul was released during Third Impact._

She watched as the EVA's brought Unit 01 skyward and prepared to create the Anti-AT Field that would release the souls of the world.

_Do you know who came to me and released me from my torment?_

She heard the screaming as the souls were released, but hers didn't. She was left behind...

_No one..._

"No one came," she whispered. "No one in life or death cared about me in the end. They should have just died..."

The crushing despair she felt at the final realization that her life was worth nothing to anyone fell upon her like a ton of bricks. Oh, how she longed to drift in the endless nothingness that lied beyond the veil. How she desired to be one with oblivion as Rei once did, the sweet release of her mortal coil... to fly to that sweet serene place that lies beyond this fallacy that is reality.

_My AT Field collapsed and my soul released because I gave up. I wanted death..._

"You should all just die! DIE! DIE! Why, baka?! Why did you bring me back to this place?! This horrible joke that is reality?! Why do I exist?!" Her lip trembled. This time, he wouldn't be here to comfort her. "Why?" she whispered. "Why?"

Collapsing in on herself she curled into a ball on the floor and cried the way she would always cry... alone. Her tears fell in a near torrent as her mind contemplated another 40+ years of loneliness she knew she would face. In time she cried herself to sleep as her arm continued to run blood all over the floor.

A black sludge slithered its way out of the air shaft and dragged its way towards the only warm body nearby. It was dying, just as Venom predicted. It wouldn't live much longer but it was desperate for life. It slithered slowly over to the rapidly expanding pool of blood and managed to touch it...

The moment the sludge-like entity touched the blood, it began to absorb it. Lines and streams of red liquid seemed to flow just under the surface turning it crimson with a touch of pure darkness within the creases and ever-shifting valleys of the thing's surface. It crawled over the sleeping form with a new vigor. The blood tasted _so_ good. It must have come from an individual experiencing exquisite misery and torment. It was a taste to be savored but more importantly, it was a medium to bring life.

But eventually that pool would dry up and she would be hungry again. She needed real meat... organic flesh... bloody and ripe. Still squirming prey she could rip apart internally and taste its suffering before the coup-de-grâce. Could it be that in such a short lifespan, it had already found the perfect host?

It needed the blood now to survive... It slithered to the gaping wound, cut carelessly with surgical steel. It crawled into that stream of life following the flow though the body and binding itself to the cells themselves. Asuka twitched in her sleep, likely feeling the strange sensations of having something crawling into her circulatory system. As the last drops of the symbiote bonded with her blood and entered her body, she woke up.

She bolted upright clutching her chest as if awakening from a nightmare. Forcing her breathing to come under control again, she looked at her arm where just minutes ago, she cut deeply.

No signs of cuts at all, yet her clothes were bloody as if she was lying in her own blood. Perturbed, she grabbed the knife again and held it to her skin. She reflected on the moment, deciding if she wanted to cut herself again.

She stood up. "Nein," she whispered. "No more point to it. Besides... if I'm forced to live in a mockery of order and existence... Why not enjoy it instead." She tilted her head a bit cracking her neck, smiling slightly, and sadistically. For a moment, her eyes shifted to having no features at all, only white globes in her head. "And who says that enjoyment can't come at the expense of others... Heute ist ein guter Tag, um zu töten." [Today is a good day to kill]

As she was leaving the room for the bathroom she tossed the knife over her shoulder. The force of the throw was sufficient to send it slicing the air and it stuck an inch deep in the opposite wall of the room.

* * *

**End of Chapter VI**

* * *

_I have screamed until my veins collapsed  
I've waited as my time's elapsed  
Now, all I do is live with so much hate  
I've wished for this, I've bitched at that  
I've left behind this little fact:  
You cannot kill what you did not create  
I've gotta say what I've gotta say  
And then I swear I'll go away  
But I can't promise you'll enjoy the noise  
I guess I'll save the best for last  
My future seems like one big past  
You're left with me 'cause you left me no choice _

-Slipknot, Duality


	7. Blood

**VII: Blood**

* * *

Shinji was very upset...

He sat in Misato's office and was just told point blank as well as shown footage that damned the woman he loved. He heard how she became this way by Ritsuko Akagi, and what was done to try to stop her. He was told how it didn't go very well.

"We have to help her," he said resolutely.

"I'd like to Shinji-kun," Misato agreed. "But she has become a very grave threat to the city. I've ordered Section-4 to bring her in, dead or alive."

"Dead or alive?!" he half-shouted. "You can't kill her!"

"Shinji-kun, we have no choice! Do you think I like this idea any more than you do?! She's a sweet girl, if a little difficult to get to know, but I know how you feel about her."

"I don't think you do," he protested. "She's everything to me Misato..._ Everything_. I can't... I won't..." He shook with unexpressed rage. "I didn't become god for a day and give her a chance at life just to let her die now!"

Shinji ran from the office. Misato tried to stop him, but he was too fast.

"Leave him be, Misato," Ritsuko suggested. "I don't blame him."

"Damn it," Misato whispered.

"Don't beat yourself up. This is all my fault anyway. I should be the one he hates, not you."

"He understands you better than you know," she replied. "Me as well I'm sure. He's gonna try to bring her back himself."

"You think so?"

Misato nodded. "And I hope to Kami he succeeds." Her phone rang drawing her attention away. "Commander Katsuragi," she said in the device upon picking it up.

"This is Tashima, there's been another slaying. This one was bloodier than the last one."

"I see. Any leads yet?"

"Negative."

"Keep trying." She hung up the phone.

"Another murder?" Ristuko asked. The look on Misato's face was all she needed to see.

* * *

Shinji ended up arriving at home late. Misato wasn't home still, and he felt like crap. His attempts to find Rei were futile. He knew Section-2 was following him at all times, but he knew Rei would never hurt him.

"I wish I could see her," he said as he turned the light on in his room. On his bed was a piece of paper.

"What's this?" he whispered as he went to it. 'Shinji-kun' was written on it. He opened it and read the contents...

_My love. I wish I had known what was happening to me before things went out of control, but now things have escalated to the point of insanity. I am afraid of what might happen to me. The symbiote is now as much a part of me as my very soul._

_I'd like to see you if possible. There is an old church in what used to be downtown Nakameguro. I am here. Please come alone, I trust you won't betray me._

_Your Beloved,_

_Rei_

Shinji pocketed the letter and grabbed a bag. He packed a few clothes with him and quietly made his way out of the apartment. Though it was difficult, he managed to give Section-2 the slip and made his way towards Nakameguro. By the time he got there, it was almost sunrise. About five miles southwest of Tokyo-3 was small town that used to be part of the Nakameguro suburb. Much of this area was devastated by Second Impact but it held together enough for a new town to take root here.

The abandoned church, a part of the old town, was an oddity in a mostly Shintoist country. It was typical for a Roman Catholic Church with a high steeple and a huge bell tower. The stained glass windows were still mostly intact, but their discoloration created strange and ominous images now. Shinji entered the church with anxiety.

Inside he found the spiral stairs that lead up to the top of the bell tower. They were mostly intact but a few showed signs of decay. He carefully made his way up towards the apex of the building and entered the darkness that was the top. There were only a few candles to provide light. From the side of the room, Rei looked at him with a haggard appearance.

"Rei?" he whispered to her. She was wearing only her camisole top and a pair of panties. She'd always felt comfortable in his presence, regardless of her states of dress or undress.

"Yes Shinji-kun... It's me." He approached but Rei held a hand up. "Please, don't come any closer."

"But Rei— ," he protested.

"Please."

Shinji nodded and sat down on the floor.

"Do you know what I am now?"

Shinji's heart beat a little more rapidly. He didn't want to believe the reports at all but hearing her talk like this was enough to let him know how accurate they were.

"I... I was told."

"The reports are true," she said calmly. "I've become infected with an alien symbiote... I'm the Bloodletter you keep hearing about. I... no, _we _are Venom."

"We?" Shinji asked with fear in his voice.

"Yes... We," she clarified. "As we continue to have so much contact with each other, as we do more things together, we are slowly become a singular entity."

"Rei, there has to be a way I can stop this!"

"It's too late," Rei said sadly, perhaps even a bit fearfully. "Venom has bonded to my body. I can never be rid of her now."

_I'm surprised to hear you admit it._

_'Shut up.'_

"No!" Shinji said defiantly. "I don't accept that! I know there has to be a way to save you!"

"Shinji, please," Rei pleaded. "There is no way. The bond is too deep between us now. Venom has become a fundamental part of my very existence! Without her, I would die now. Just as sure as without me, she would die. There is no way to separate us."

"There is _always _a way," Shinji insisted. "And I'll find out what it is. Then I'm gonna save you."

Rei looked away. "Please, Shinji... Just forget about me."

Shinji looked at her shocked. "What?"

"Leave me," she said again. "Forget me, I'm lost now."

Shinji was silent at her request, but resolutely replied, "No."

"You have to," Rei insisted.

"No! I didn't reset this world and give you another chance at life just to have random chance decide your fate now! I will save you Rei."

Rei gasped moments before the symbiote awakened and she changed nearly instantly into Venom. _**"Leave us alone!" **_she screamed as she pounced. Shinji was knocked to his back with Venom on top of him pinning him down.

"_**You are a nuisance. Don't you see we don't want you anymore?!" **_

Shinji opened his eyes staring into the horror that is Venom. She sniffed him but there was no fear on his body at all. This puzzled Venom since everything with half of a brain on this worthless rock was afraid of her.

"_**Why aren't you afraid?"**_

"I have stared down over a dozen angels," he began resolutely. "I have stared into the face of death, been absorbed by creatures beyond understanding, tore the bodies of my enemies to pieces, and walked beyond the brink of sanity and back again." He leaned in closer to the toothed maw and lashing tongue above him. "I am not afraid of you. Let... her... go."

"_**You impetuous little worm! I'll kill you for this!" **_Venom's mouth opened wide ready to bite his head clean off of is body. Shinji never flinched... not until Venom appeared to be in pain as Rei finally began to assert control again.

In a show of force, Rei finally tore Venom off of Shinji, throwing herself into the back wall. As Venom appears to finally begin to calm, the exo-skin peeled from Rei's face, now only covering her from the neck down.

"Rei?"

"Shinji," she whispered. "You... You shouldn't upset her like that."

"She doesn't own you Rei," Shinji asserted.

Rei began to cry almost immediately. "Yes... Yes she does!" Shinji tried to get closer, but two tendrils launched and snapped a mere inch from him causing him to back off. "I can barely keep her in check anymore... I'm simply not strong enough."

"You have to fight her Rei," Shinji replied. "I believe in you... I believe in 'us'."

"Us," she echoed. "Us... That word means only pain to me now... I can do little to keep her at bay anymore... Please, Shinji... go."

"But..."

"Just go."

Shinji tried to come closer and Rei made a hissing noise at him. For a moment, her face appeared to have Venom-like features like the pointed teeth and a more feral visage. The image was marred only slightly by the tears in her eyes.

"Alright," he said at last. "But I will return. When I do... I will help you be free again. I promise you that... my love."

The last words made her stop crying for a moment and merely tremble as he left.

_Love... Pah! He knows nothing._

"_Does he?" s_he stood up and wiped the tears away. _"I don't care what you do to me anymore. I will take my life back if it's the last thing I do."_

_It just might be, toots... It just might be._

* * *

"Once upon a time," Rei began softly, eyeing the object in her hands critically. "My body could not handle meat. I hated the taste of it, and my body would reject it. But now..."

She lifted the thick roast beef sandwich up to her mouth and bit into it. She savored the taste of the meat, the added cheese and sliced tomato. The flavored mayo ignited her taste buds further and she instantly decided she had never tasted anything so spectacular before.

"I find the taste... agreeable." The wavering her voice was like a girl who had fallen in love.

_And you say I do nothing for you._

"You still made me a monster," she pointed out. "And let's not forget that you're also a rapist."

_Oh get off it already. If it makes you feel any better, I enjoyed it._

"You're just making this even weirder than it already is," Rei complained, prompting the symbiote to laugh. While what the symbiote did to her was technically rape, on a few levels it wasn't in any way, shape or form typical. Rei was recovering from it but she was on many levels still very weary of the symbiote.

The bell tower Rei was now staying in was part of the a church. The bell was gone and Rei had made herself a new home, such as it was. In the corner her plugsuit hung against the wall, now modified with holes where the tears once were on the back, arms, and legs to allow the symbiote the ability to come out when needed. A small rigged recharger made with a stolen car battery was attached to the suit as well.

Rei wore a thin nighty and a fresh pair of panties, both stolen as well and was eating her stolen sandwich at a table that once likely belonged to the church's caretaker. She resented living like a criminal, but until she could get her situation back under her control she had little choice but to do just that.

_I know you want to go home, back to him..._

Rei put her sandwich down. "_We_ want that," she corrected. "You forced me to push him away, but he won't stay away from us. You know that. And I won't live like this forever. I want to be with him, become one with him and maybe settle down and..."

She stopped. She didn't have a normal womb she remembered. Even with Shinji's demands that she have a normal life, she couldn't imagine what it was like to have a normal body. Inside of her body was her S2 engine, where her uterus should be. It was what Venom tapped into to torture her.

_You can't have children of your own._

Rei was shocked only because the symbiote almost sounded sympathetic to her plight. A tear broke free of her eye and trailed down her face. "I... I want a daughter of my own... and I want Shinji to be the father... But I can never have that."

"We interrupt this program to bring you this bulletin," came the voice on the radio. "The Bloodletter has stuck again! This time, a bloodstain matching the MO of the mysterious killer was found north of Chiyoda, and authorities say..."

Rei's thoughts drowned out the radio as she realized that she's never been to Chiyoda as Venom.

"That symbiote," Rei said with anger in her voice.

_Impossible, it couldn't have survived._

"Yeah? Well we didn't do that. We've never been to Chiyoda, have we?"

_No... We haven't._

"We need to go back to Tokyo-3," she said with resolve. "We have to stop this other symbiote."

_Why do you care so much? These meat sacks are not worth the effort of protecting._

"You forget," Rei pointed out, "that I'm half-human myself. They have a lot of potential to become great, but they'll never get that potential if you and the other monster keep eating them. I admit some probably deserve death, but most of them are just trying to live out their lives."

_Meat sacks are meat sacks, that's all there is to it. Their potential in the grand schemes of the cosmos is ultimately meaningless._

"Is that so? Or are you afraid of what we might become?"

_I'm not afraid of anything!_

"Struck a nerve," Rei noted as she steepled her fingers at the table Gendo Style. "You are far more worried about us than you let on."

_Alright fine, we'll go... just for not now. Any more like me and I'll start to lose my exclusivity rights anyway. But just for the record, this is a waste of time._

"I'll note that in my memoirs when I finally get old enough to write them."

* * *

A group of Section-4 personnel, five in all scoured an alleyway. Each man was armed with a submachine gun and full tactical gear.

"Careful men," one of the members whispered. "We got word that it might be nearby. This could be our chance to kill this bitch once and for all."

"_**Oh, we don't think so,"**_ the evil voice came from above. One of the men that looked up in the direction the sound came from was instantly pierced a dozen times by solid crimson darts that tore through him like tissue paper. His body folded, with his bones breaking and his organs rupturing as he did. The remaining four men opened fire into the darkness above, but saw only the outer edges of whirling tendrils that easily blocked even these armor piercing rounds. Sparks flew from the impacts briefly illuminating the opened maw and long tongue attached to a crimson and black face punctuated with pure white patches for eyes.

"Oh God!" one of the men cried out. "The AP rounds aren't doing anything to it now! It's stronger than before!"

Three red tendrils that appeared to be tipped with blades launched from the darkness and tore the man into three pieces. Before the pieces could even hit the ground, they were skewered with the same tendrils and drawn into the darkness with trails of blood and barely contained organs behind them. The horrific scene was enough to make the remaining three men run for their lives.

The red monster chased from above. In their panic, the men ran deeper into the alley system rather than take the most direct route out of there. The man in the front was skewered with a javelin sized spike of crimson that almost looked like metal prompting the other two to break off in two directions. One who tried to run back was suddenly engulfed by the monster itself. The last ran like crazy and reached a fence with no gate.

He tried to climb the fence but it was moving too much to make this easy. A tendril wrapped around his waist and dragged him down, slamming him into the ground hard enough to break his back and make any more attempts at escape impossible.

"Please!" he screamed. "Please spare me!"

"_**But we're sooo hungry! You wouldn't deny a girl like us her food, would you?"**_

It jumped on him staring him in the face with its tongue only inches from him.

"What the?! Y-You're not her! You're not the Bloodletter!"

"_**Give the guy a cupie doll!"**_

"What the hell are you?!"

"_**We are chaos incarnate, we are the ones who mock order and eschew morality. We... are... Carnage! And you my dear boy, are about to become part of us, too."**_

Before he could let out another scream, the mouth of Carnage opened like a snake's and she swallowed the man head first, chewing him up as she did. Horrid slurping and crunching noises could be heard as his body was consumed. Within a mere minute, all traces of the man, save for a few blood splatters was gone.

As Carnge got up, the red exo-skin began to peel away revealing a red sundress, red high heels and a cascade of red hair.

Asuka's blue eyes opened as she came down from what could only be described as a great high. She loosened her hair and sighed in pleasure.

"Wunderbar, einfach wunderbar!" she said as she got her breath back. [Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!]

_I concur... You are so good at this, my sweet Asuka._

"The sheer power we have together is such a turn-on! Mein Gott, I love it! For the first time since I woke up, I feel alive!" She raised her hands as if to punctuate the words and noticed that the scar on her arm was gone.

"Was ist das?" she asked herself. [What is this?] "It's gone! The scar is gone... Then that means..." She pulled her arms out of the straps of her dress and pulled it out far enough to see her body without really exposing herself. None of the scars of Third Impact were there anymore. She laughed aloud, spinning with joy!

"They are gone!" She cried out. "Gone!"

_You're welcome._

"I didn't know we could do that!"

_Regeneration is a simple trick. With enough energy we can heal from even the most grievous of wounds._

"I wish you were with me during the Angel War," she replied. "Gott, this is so incredible! I want to kill some more... I want to cause havoc and destruction!"

_Your bloodlust is to be commended, but we must curb our enthusiasm for now. We have an advantage. There were no survivors so Section-4 still thinks it's Venom doing the killing._

"Venom? Don't you mean the Bloodletter?"

_No, Venom... my mother. I was created from her body. The Bloodletter is just a name the humans have given her... Venom is her real name._

"I see," Asuka replied. "We should get Venom to join us in causing havoc. Imagine what the two of us could accomplish together!"

_No. Venom cared nothing for me when she created me. She expected me to die in a few hours. I was only a by-product of her attempt to reign in her host, who was resisting her desires._

"That's horrible! What a bitch! Who's Venom's host?"

She could almost feel the symbiote inside of her body smiling at the question.

_Oh you're going to love this... Rei Ayanami._

"The doll?!" Asuka began to laugh almost manically. "Oh wow! This is simply delicious! So Venom basically raped her to punish her for resisting. Shinji-kun is going to be sooo distraught when he finds out his poor little doll turned into a psychotic killing machine."

_And someone needs to be there to catch him..._

"We do so think alike! This is the best day of my life... so far." Asuka smiled sadistically, then chuckled as she walked back towards a NERV access point.

* * *

"We now have soldiers from the JSSDF, along with several thousand reservists on hand running regular patrols 'round the clock. We'll get her next time." Tashima finished his report on a positive note.

Sadly, Commander Katsuragi was less than convinced. Though Tashima saw that coming.

"I wish I could believe that," she replied from her seated position behind her desk. "Our track record against Bloodletter has been less than perfect."

"Venom," came the voice of Shinji as he entered the cavernous office.

"Shinji-kun?" Misato called out as he entered. "Are you alright? You've been gone almost two days now."

"I'm fine... Physically at least," he replied sadly. "The symbiote is nearly in full control over her body now. It calls itself 'Venom', and it slowly absorbing Rei's mind and body."

"Kami," Misato whispered sadly.

"There has to be a way to stop this!"

Before Misato could respond, Doctor Akagi entered the room with a folder.

"The last two events weren't her," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What?!" Misato replied, barely able to keep her shock in check.

"The last two incidents were far too messy to be Bloodletter."

"Venom," Shinji corrected.

"How can you be certain?" Misato questioned.

"My feelings tell me," Ritsuko replied. "Also, the evidence seems to suggest it. The kills were far more brutal and the bodies that were left behind that were not consumed looked like they were impaled or torn to pieces. Short of DNA evidence, that's the best I can say."

"So if Rei isn't doing it, who is?" Shinji asked.

The question left an air of uncertainty and terror in the very air around the room's four occupants.

* * *

_You really think you can beat me?_

"I don't need to beat you," Rei replied. "I need you to understand me. If you want to become my permanent partner, then I suggest you learn how to compromise." Rei began to strip out of her stolen underthings as the sun slipped below the horizon.

_That's rich. You're lucky I'm even entertaining this hunt for Red October. I'd prefer to just let the other symbiote do what it does in its own territory and leave us to ours._

"I can't do that," Rei replied as she removed the charging battery from her modified plug suit and began to put it on. "And you're not as powerful as you think you are."

_You're afraid of me._

"Maybe, but our meeting with Shinji-kun today told me everything I need to know. You were willing to kill him for upsetting me."

The symbiote remained silent at her assertion.

"You're jealous of him."

_Ha! That's a good one._

"Then how else do you explain your attempts to 'protect me', as it were."

_What's he got that I don't got... besides man-parts?_

"I don't love you," she replied immediately, and sealed the suit. "The way you have treated me, I can never feel the same way about you. I will resist your influence with every ounce of my being until you either compromise with me or you kill me. But you'll never break me again like you did when you raped me."

_I see._

Venom's exo-skin poured out of the holes in the plugsuit. As it coated her, her muscles seemed to take on new definition. The details of the plugsuit were lost and she appeared to be naked under that black second skin, just as she always did. Her face took on more feral features as the black skin closed over her head, changing her eyes to white patches on the outside of the exo-skin's face. Her mouth opened revealing a long tongue and sharpened teeth.

On her chest, a white spider symbol appeared with its legs stretching behind Venom.

"This is new," Rei touched the symbol on her chest.

_I figured we should have our own symbol... We're a perfect killing machine so I figured a spider would be appropriate all things considered._

"As much as I hate being a killing machine... I kinda like the symbol."

_I know you hate me now. But we're stuck with each other either way. Maybe I'll give some thought to this whole 'compromise' thing... but I make no promises._

As the sun fell below the buildings, Venom launched a tendril at a nearby building and began to swing her way towards the heart of Tokyo-3.

"Now let's find that other symbiote."

* * *

**End of Chapter VII**

* * *

_Put me back together, or separate the skin from bone,_

_Leave me all the pieces, and then you can leave me alone_

_Tell me that reality, is better than the dream,_

_But I found out the hard way, nothing is what it seems_

– _Slipknot, Duality_


	8. Wrack

**VIII: Wrack**

* * *

Tokyo-3 looked more ominous to Rei this time around. She knew it was psychological since she was searching for another symbiote this time.

_'Why can't we sense it out?'_

_It must be hiding from us somehow. Maybe because it was derived from me, it's somehow able to evade my senses?_

_'That doesn't bode well.'_

Rei swung upon a different building and looked down over the city. There was still a feeling of freedom that came with the power granted by the symbiote. But every time she tried to touch that now, she remembered the rooftop... Venom causing her pain as her body was violated by the symbiote. It marred the feeling of freedom significantly.

_Seriously? You're still going on about that? You humans are so weak-willed. One little tragedy in your lives and you dwell upon it 'til your dying days. Still think I'm afraid of your so-called 'potential'?_

_'Of course you are afraid. You're attacking things you have no real understanding of. Somehow I get the feeling that if you really understood just how what you have done affected me before, you wouldn't have done it.'_

_Ha! I have no regard for humans._

_'You do have regard for me.'_

The symbiote remained silent. Rei smirked at her minor victory.

_'You're really not that hard to figure out you know.'_

* * *

Carnage swung from a red tendril upon another building. Unlike Venom, Carnage knew exactly where she was and was taking a round-about route to reach her target in an effort to catch her by surprise.

_'I thought we were leaving her be for now?'_ Asuka asked.

_We were. But now she's looking for us, probably in an attempt to kill us. There is no other possible reason in this case._

_'Oh well, not like I'm going to shed a tear for her. Besides, I heard Shinji knows about Venom now and is rather distraught over the whole thing,' _Asuka smiled evilly. _'Once we're done slaughtering Venom, we'll have to have a nice little visit with Shinji-kun and console him.'_

_Yes we will._

Carnage used two tendrils to boost herself up the side of another building, launching herself about 10 feet over it before landing on all fours on its roof. She then crawled closer to the edge and peeked over. She saw Venom, still unaware of their presence looking out over the city from the slightly shorter building to the right.

_'Perfect. Unsuspected and undetected.'_

_Let's do this, my sweet Asuka._

Carnage leapt from the building straight towards the target of her hate, her right hand molding itself into a set of elongated steel-hard talons. Time seemed to slow as she perfectly arched down towards her target. But something went wrong. Maybe it was a shift in the air, or perhaps Venom's peripheral vision was better than Carnage anticipated. But for whatever reason it was, her target reacted.

Venom's right hand was thrown out in a backhanded motion sending a tendril out that whipped Carnage right out of the air sending her a good 12 feet off course. The red symbiote was able to adjust its orientation and land on all fours, its tongue lashing around in agitation.

Venom took a low stance with claws out. "Here I was looking for you, and you came to me."

"_**You shouldn't have come here, 'Mother'," **_Carnage replied. _**"This is our hunting ground."**_

"I have to stop you."

"_**I? Me? Someone is having a problem getting their act together it seems. Then again, we expected nothing less from you, Wondergirl."**_

Venom's eyes widened in shock. "Asuka?!"

"_**It's 'Carnage' to you, bitch!" **_She crossed her arms at shoulder level as a series spike-like projections grew out of them. At the last word, she swung her arms out in wide arcs and launched the spikes forward at high velocity.

Venom threw herself into a back-flip and the spikes barely missed her, traveling just underneath her.

"Ok, that was a neat trick."

"_**You ain't seen nothin' yet."**_

Carnage lunged at Venom and this time she was too slow to react. On impact they both went over the side of the building, impacting the one across the street with sufficient force to shatter nearby windows. They began to roll down the side of the brick building but Venom managed to catch a window sill and stopped her fall. Carnage did the same one floor down and both were now on all fours on the wall. Debris rained upon the street below causing bystanders to look up. As the monsters began moving in a circle around each other while still facing each other, the people below fled the area amidst their own screams.

Venom formed a tendril and lashed at Carnage with enough force to damage the wall, but Carnage was too fast and launched several tendrils of her own. For a few moments, they attempted to attack each other this way, until Carnage ended up a floor above Venom. She lunged at the black symbiote sending them both down to street level. Carnage ended up on top and attempted to stab Venom with several blade-like projections on her hands. Venom managed to kick her off and roll back to her feet.

"_**Not bad for not having your act together," **_Carnage mocked. _**"You're still gonna lose."**_

"Don't bet on that," Venom countered. "I've been at this longer than you."

"_**Ha! Experience isn't everything in this game. In fact, where symbiotes like us are concerned, it's nearly meaningless."**_

Carnage lunged again but Venom managed again to dodge. But since Venom and Rei couldn't work truly as one, her movements were much more sluggish when compared to Carnage who was completely synchronized with Asuka. As Venom turned to try to get an offensive edge, Carnage was already moving, launching a javelin of metalized symbiote-flesh into Venom. The black symbiote was skewered and then thrown through the side of the building. Though the stabbing hurt like hell, Rei ignored it and attempted to use the darkness of the building to her advantage. Carnage was quick to pursue.

"_**Did that hurt?"**_

"Not as much as this will," Venom replied. Carnage couldn't move in time since by the time she even saw what was coming at her, it was too late to do anything about it. A sanding machine was thrown into her out of the darkness. The impact threw Carnage from the building and stunned her briefly since the machine weighed about 400 lbs. When she recovered from that, Venom landed on her and started beating her into the ground with her powerful punches.

Carnage took a few of the hits then launched several spikes out of her chest into Venom. Venom screamed as the red metal tore through her body and out the other side.

"_**You're thinking like a human still," **_Carnage taunted. _**"Fight like a symbiote or don't waste our time." **_Carnage kicked her off of the spikes of metal, sending blood and bits of the other symbiote into the air. Venom landed with a dull thump and began regenerating the damage. She rolled onto all fours as Carnage approached in a similar stance.

"_**You can't win," **_Carnage taunted again. _**"We were content to let you stay alive wherever you were hunting now, but you had to stick your nose here."**_

"This was _my _city long before it was ever yours," Venom replied. "I won't let you continue to exist. It's bad enough I have to exist here."

"_**Oh, wow! You really do hate yourself. You fucking doll! When are you ever going to learn that until you stop allowing yourself to be dominated, you'll never get stronger? Until you break those chains, you'll never have anything you want."  
**_

"And you think you have strength now?" Venom countered. "You're being used the same as me."

"_**Wrong! The part of us that is Asuka embraced what we have become. Until you can do the same, you are destined to be nothing. Well, you'll never get the chance either way since you're going to die tonight."**_

"Not happening. And for the last time... I AM NOT A DOLL!"

Venom stood up, tendrils whipped along the walls and tearing up a street lamp in a constant spinning wheel of death. Carnage jumped to the side before the rush of tendrils could reach her and manged to dodge the falling lamppost.

"_**Struck a nerve, it seems."**_

With a battle cry, Venom leapt upon Carnage again, but was thrown off. Black tendrils lashed and red spikes flew as the two alien creatures fought for their lives. Within moments, Carnage was thrown into the third floor of a nearby building. Venom tried to pursue but a cone of metal shards flew out of the hole. When it stopped, she used a tendril to propel herself inside the building and pressed the attack. In this office building, computers flew and cubicles were torn to pieces. Walls were torn apart as tendrils launched in all directions. Black and red blurs could be seen here and there before shredded plastic and glass that used to be office equipment flew though the air.

With a massive burst of red blade-like tendrils, Venom was finally thrown from the building and back into the street. Her chest was a bloody ruin, but was piecing itself back together. It had barely regenerated enough when Carnage came down and almost landed on her in an attempt to finish the fight.

Venom was getting tired. She wasted a lot of energy regenerating injuries that Carnage caused, but the red symbiote seemed like it barely broke a sweat.

_'I wouldn't be insulted by a few suggestions about now,' _Rei said internally.

_I wouldn't know where to begin, _Venom confessed morbidly.

* * *

Commander Katsuragi was just about to leave her office for the night when the call came in from the head of Section-2.

"What is it," she asked slightly annoyed.

"There's been a report of a major disturbance on Ibishi Avenue. Section-4 is reporting that there are two monsters matching the description of 'Venom / Bloodletter' currently engaged in direct combat."

"Wonderful," Misato commented dryly as she was now running out of her office. "Have a car waiting for me, I need to see this."

"It's a bit dangerous for you to be there," Tashima cautioned.

"I don't care. I'm tired of staying on the sidelines. Get me there, Major. That's an order."

"Very well."

"And get every available JSSDF trooper under our command down there now!"

* * *

Another wall blew apart as Venom was thrown through it.

"_**This is so disappointing," **_Carnage taunted. _**"Where was the fire from earlier? Where was that passion? You're making this too easy on us."**_

Venom got back to her feet just in time to see a dumpster launched in her direction. She tried to move but her muscles were sluggish and she took the hit directly. Less than a second later, she came to a stop sandwiched between the dumpster and a building. She kicked it off barely in time to dodge Carnage's next sweeping strike towards her neck. She launched several tendrils in retaliation, which scored a direct hit and launched the red symbiote back into the alleyway.

Venom moved away from that ally. She couldn't take much more of this.

"_**Running away? Oh we don't think so."**_

Carnage leapt upon Venom again and threw her though a nearby wall into the bottom floor of an office building. Several employees who were trying to wrap up their overtime shift ran screaming from the room. Venom tried to get up and was kicked though another wall into the kitchen of the cafeteria.

"_**You can't even stand. How pathetic."**_

"Well I'm not done yet," Venom countered as she got up to her knees, trying desperately to get back to her feet.

Carnage stalked forward with her forearms turning into metalized blades of red symbiote flesh. _**"It doesn't matter how much you can or can't stand... you're finished."**_

"Wrong," Rei countered as she launched a single tendril at Carnage. The red symbiote was easily able to side step the attack and watched where it went. The tendril sliced through the large commercial oven on the other side. The sound of gas leaking into the room was relatively loud.

"_**Oh... shi**_**— "**

The oven exploded, sending both symbiotes out of the kitchen through the wall and into the main dining area of the building. Venom was hurt badly, but Carnage was even worse off. She was the closest to the explosion and the heat set her exo-skin alight.

Venom slowly got back to her hands and knees while Carnage shrieked as the flames quickly covered her. She rolled upon the ground, managing within a few moments to douse them at last, but the symbiotes were susceptible to burns like this, and it put Venom back on equal footing with Carnage. When the red symbiote finally got to its feet, it was tackled out of the building into another area.

A small park-like area sat between the two buildings with grass and benches set up. Carnage was used as a battering ram to punch though one of them. As both Symbiotes moved back into their combat stances on all fours, light suddenly flooded the area causing both to look up.

Shots rang out form the helicopter, causing Venom to escape into the darkness. Carnage was able to block the armor piercing slugs but wasn't about to stick around for more.

"_**We'll finish this later, bitch!" **_she yelled as she escaped though a different pathway.

* * *

Misato watched the video feed from the small screen in the car she was taken in. She had initially doubted that there could possibly be two monsters. But now that she has seen both of them in the courtyard between two office buildings, the truth struck home.

"Goddammit, Rits," she whispered. "Your little pet is multiplying."

The vehicle suddenly broke to a halt and Misato saw while immediately. Venom was dragging herself to her feet and making a break for it.

Misato whipped out of the car and yelled at the symbiote. "Rei! Stop!"

Venom stopped, looking back at the car and the Section-2 personnel with their submachine guns and their black suits. She saw Misato with her pistol leveled at her as well.

"Stop running," she demanded. "We want to help you."

"I've seen your help," Venom replied. "I'm not impressed by it."

"Do it for Shinji," she offered.

"No. Don't you _dare_ drag him into this! Don't you dare use him as a pawn like his father did."

Misato flinched at the accusation. "Rei please, I'm sorry. But I am thinking of him. He wants you back. We all do!"

"I'm sorry too," Venom replied. "You can't help me." She took off, prompting the Section-2 Agents to open fire.

"Damn it! After her!" Misato ordered.

* * *

Carnage flipped over another vehicle and kept running. The sound of automatic fire tearing the vehicle apart behind her was a fair indication of just how close her pursuers were.

_'If only we could engulf one or two. We need energy!'_

_There are too many, we must continue to flee._

_'Noted.'_

Carnage leapt from the ground onto the side of a building and ran along it as the sounds of more automatic fire tore the wall apart behind her. She felt the heat of the bullets.

'_Incendiary rounds. Not good.'_

A couple hit her, burning her back badly. She let loose and alien-sounding shriek but hissed in anger even as she heard the men motivating themselves at this minor victory.

_They will get theirs soon enough my sweet Asuka._

_'I have an idea. This might hurt a bit though.'_

Carnage turned at the corner towards the traffic filled Imigawa Avenue. Though traffic was relatively tight, it was moving quickly. She ran out into the street and allowed herself to be struck by a car. The force threw her into the air and rolled her under another larger vehicle. She kept rolling until she reached the outer lane where an 18-wheeler was in the process of passing. Carnage launched a pair of tendrils into the underside of the trailer and pulled herself under the truck. The driver didn't feel anything so he kept going, but all of her pursuers lost sight of her instantly.

"Where the hell did it go?!" one of them yelled as they tried to see across the street.

* * *

Venom soon managed to escape back into the drainage system again. She dropped to her knees and allowed the exo-skin to peel from her face.

"I haven't been in this much pain since my first activation experiment with 00."

_Carnage is far too powerful for us. We were completely outmatched._

_'What the hell are we going to do now? We can't beat her, but we can't let her run amok.'_

_I know._

Rei breathed hard as the symbiote retracted into her body completely. She carefully moved though the drainage system until she reached the extreme north side of the city. Here in an ancient looking cistern, Rei found a safe and relatively dry place to lay down.

"Thank Kami that's water and not something else," she said aloud.

_We'll rest up and then we'll go back home._

"She'll keep hunting us, you know. There is no escaping this."

_I know that too._

"We have to learn how to work together. You have to bend a bit, otherwise we're both dead."

_Why do __**I**__ have to bend? Why can't you just embrace who you are?_

_'Because it's NOT who I really am!'_ she thought back. _'The part of me that is an angel is only part of who Rei Ayanami is. The Rei Ayanami that I know I am is more than that. She is part human, she has a sense of justice, she is able to love...' _Her thoughts drifted to Shinji for a moment. _'The only thing you allowed yourself to understand is the part of me that is still Lilith. She is but a part of the picture. Don't you get it?'_

_Fine. But I'm a carnivorous symbiotic alien life form that hails from the deepest, darkest part of the galaxy. That angel is something I can really relate to._

_'I'm not asking you to be civil. I'm asking you to not try to eat everyone and respect my wishes. We could be something great on this world, but so far we are nothing but petty and we can't even work together without trying to fuck each other over. So of course we can't win against Carnage. I understand what she meant now by experience being meaningless against symbiotes.'_

Rei sighed heavily. "Before we head back, we're going to need some meat. Tokyo-3 isn't the safest city in the world and the suburbs and outskirts of the city are just as dangerous. We can find someone there who is disposable."

_Two._

"Don't get your hopes up but we'll see. Then we get back home, recover, and figure out the next move."

_At this point, we can both agree on something though... Carnage needs to die._

"Asuka... I can't believe she is the one who bonded with the symbiote. It's red... what does that mean to you?"

_As I said before. The only way the symbiote could have survived is if it reached a life-giving medium of some strength. Was Asuka emo?_

_'She had that potential.'_

_Then the symbiote probably bonded with her blood directly. She may have been cutting on herself and it crawled into her blood stream._

Rei's skin crawled at that thought.

"Either way, we now have at least a working theory. Her powers are quite different."

_Could be because she's native to this world rather than alien._

"How so?"

_She was born in this atmosphere. She has an alien origin like me, but in her case, she's not really alien._

_'Terrific.'_

_Ok seriously? Out loud or in your head. Pick one. You can't have it both ways. It's driving me nuts._

_'Heh, sorry.'_

_So how are we going to come to terms with this?_

Rei thought about it. _'I don't know yet... but I'll come up with something.'_

_I hope you do._

* * *

**End of Chapter VIII**

* * *

_I am not afraid of the storm that comes my way,  
When it hits it shakes me to __the core,  
and makes me stronger than before  
It's not a question about trust, but will you stand with us?_

_Can you feel it, make it real_

_– Thousand Foot Krutch, Courtesy Call_


	9. Territory

**IX: Territory**

* * *

"I swear to you Misato, I had no idea it could reproduce like that."

Misato was fuming now. She'd been on the verge of a murderous rage for a while, but now was at the point where she was ready to start waving a gun at her best friend. The office of the Supreme Commander of NERV was famous for its tense moments before, especially during the reign of the first Supreme Commander, Gendo Ikari. Now it was tense again, despite the change in decor and the shift in power to the once Operations Director.

"Well, now we know," she said in barely contained rage. "So, how the fuck do we kill them?"

"We could always try to fight fire with fire," Shinji offered. He stood at Misato's right side, where Kozo Fuyutsuki once stood when Commander Ikari reigned. "Maybe make a new symbiote, one that can be controlled..."

"Out of the question," Ritsuko said with finality. "First, there would be no way to control it for certain. Secondly, it would take at least a year to make another viable symbiote."

"Let's go over what we know," Major Noboru Tashima offered from his place at the window behind and to the left of the commander. He stood in a manner Gendo was famous for whenever he looked out over the Geofront to think. "Venom is susceptible to Armor Piercing ammo, but this red newcomer seems to be more vulnerable to incendiary weaponry. For additional protection, I would advise each Section-4 and Section-2 detail on patrol to carry no less than two incendiary weapons in their team."

"Good suggestion," Commander Katsuragi agreed. "We certainly have the supplies for it."

"I'm close to completing my first sonic weapon prototype," Ritsuko offered. "If it can be tested successfully, I can go into production in a week or less."

"And you're certain it will work?"

"No doubts at all."

"Our men need every advantage," Major Tashima said in response.

Shinji looked sad. "I wonder who the other symbiote is?" he mused.

"Whoever it is, Shinji-kun, I feel sorry for her too," Misato offered as she stood and put her arms around her former ward. "I swear to you, Shinji, if we can find a way to catch Rei alive, I'll do it in a heartbeat. But–"

"I know, Misato-san... You can't promise me anything."

"On to other business then?" Ritsuko offered.

Misato nodded her acquiescence. "What's the report from Section-5?"

Tashima pulled out a data-pad. "Well," he began. "So far, we're not seeing any major advances made by the United States. At this point, Cartigan has his hands full. Canada is mostly liberated, and Mexican troops have made their way into Texas and Arizona. We're not anticipating any requests for Evangelion support at this time. However, a civil war has erupted in China. The rebels are calling for a change in power towards a constitutional monarchy and the old communist regime is still trying to hold on. We anticipate we may need to intervene. In this case, however, it will be in our best interest to support the reds."

"What?" Misato couldn't believe her ears. "Why?"

"Because the rebels have their sights set on imperialism. We're likely to become their next target should the reds lose the war."

"Terrific," Shinji lamented. "We're gonna end up fighting the most populated country in the world."

"If we support the communist party in China, we can count on their support in future engagements should we be successful in putting down the revolt."

"In that case," she began as she turned to Shinji. "You and Asuka need to continue running synch tests and simulations just in case our hand does get forced. Because if the rebels look like they're going to get the upper hand, we're going to intervene."

"Commander, I should probably point out that we don't have the authority to take that kind of action without approval from the Diet."

"I know, Major, but I also know how the 'old men' think. They'll order us to action the moment they think it's necessary."

Major Tashima couldn't argue with that theory.

* * *

Just to the north of the city of Nakameguro, a young woman was running for her life. It was the dead of night, and she was out far too late in a bad part of town. Now there was a man chasing her. A man far stronger than she was and intent on doing things to her that terrified her. She took another corner hard and ended up in an alleyway.

"Oh no," she whispered and turned around intent on doubling back hopefully before her pursuer could find her. But before she could even take a step in that direction, he came round the corner.

"Looks like you're out of places to run, sweetie," he taunted lecherously. "You gave me quite a chase. I like that. Let me reward you for such a good time." He licked his lips in a way that made her stomach churn.

She backed away from him into the wall of the alleyway. There was no escape. She clutched her clothing and closed her eyes turning her head away as he got closer.

Just as he was about in range to grab her, a black tendril wrapped around his waist and yanked him back. His sudden scream of terror caused the girl to open her eyes and look up where he was being pulled to. She froze in fear as the monster that terrorized the nearby city of Tokyo-3 was in her view. Several more tendrils of inky darkness wrapped around the attempted rapist as he kicked and screamed. All his fighting was useless in the end as Venom bit his head off first before chomping down on the rest of the body, absorbing it chunk by chunk. The girl sank to her knees in despair, realizing she was next on the menu. When Venom was finished, she crawled down towards the girl with tendrils lashing, ready to take her but suddenly hesitated.

"_**Get out of here," **_the alien voice ordered. The girl made a short gasping sound before she got to her feet and ran away as fast as she could.

_You should have let me take her too._

_'No,' _Rei said sharply. _'No killing innocents.'_

_But we're sooo hungry!_

_'Yes, we are, but we will not harm innocents anymore. This is the part where you need to compromise. Besides, I can already feel our regeneration beginning to kick in again.'_

_We need more, _Venom demanded.

_'I said I couldn't promise two.'_

_Food!_

Rei sighed internally. _'Alright fine. We'll patrol the south side of town. If we're lucky, maybe we can find a whole gang to eat.'_

_Oh, that would be a treat!_

* * *

At another murder scene at that moment, deep within Tokyo-3, Carnage was dipping one of her fingers into a pool of blood that was rapidly forming on the pavement.

_'Too easy,' _Asuka thought.

_Easy is fine. We need to recover after the beating we took, _Carnage replied. _We underestimated Venom and lost because of it._

_'Ayanami may not be in-sync with Venom, but she was smart enough to catch us off guard with that verdammt gas explosion. We won't fall for the same ploy twice.'_

_Actually, I think she just got lucky... Either way, she's going to try to bend a little bit more for Venom and probably vice verse. Our next battle will be tougher, but we're still stronger than them. We just need to leverage our combined strength and take her down._

Carnage watched the blood drip from her fingertip. Around her, six members of the Section-4 team lay in pieces, some missing choice muscles and other body parts. There were no bystanders around this time to get in the way and they didn't even have time to call for backup, giving the monster time to leave a calling card behind.

_'I'd hate to have them call us 'Bloodletter 2.0', so I think we should leave them something to remember us by.'_

_I love your style, my sweet._

When Carnage moved on, a message was left behind on the brick wall written in the blood of the team leader. It was only two words, but it would be these words that would now mark her passing at every kill site if she could help it.

CARNAGE RULES!

* * *

In NERV Central the next day, Asuka and Shinji did another synchronization test. This time, Asuka started out with a low score, mostly because her Eva didn't like the changes to her, namely that there were now two minds in the pilot sphere at the same time.

"Alright, you miserable hunk of metal and annoyance," Asuka demanded. "You're gonna listen to me now, and you're gonna like it."

_'You are a monster,' _it seemed to say.

"And my will is stronger. Obey!"

Although the Eva wanted to fight back and reject her, the sheer combined will of Asuka and Carnage was actually too much for it and it drew back instead, seeming to cower before such might.

Asuka finished her synchronization at 74.8 percent. To her chagrin, she was a full 12 points behind Shinji.

_He always was good at this, _Carnage offered in consolation.

_'I know,' _Asuka replied.

Both pilots began to leave the cages and return to the locker room. They walked together towards the locker room. She had to admire the fact that Shinji was nearly a whole head taller than her now. His father was tall too, she remembered.

"So, Shinji-kun," she began. "I see you're as good as ever."

He took little joy in that, though for her sake he smiled gently. "Still got it, I guess," he replied, though his tone was sad.

"Look... Third... I'm sorry about Rei," she said. Shinji froze as she said that and Asuka began to wonder if she said something wrong.

"I..." he whispered. "I wanted to save her. I destroyed the world and rebuilt it again just so she would have a chance at life and... Was it all for nothing, Asuka?"

"No," she said softly. "You tried your best. You loved her... I'm sure you still do. She was unlucky, but there wasn't anything you could have done."

"I was a god," Shinji lamented as his eyes began to tear up.

"_Were _a god, past tense. You only had that power for a day. Look you did the right thing but you couldn't have seen all ends. I know she didn't deserve the lot she got. I may not have liked her, but even I wouldn't have wished that upon her."

"I know." He said softly, letting a tear break from his eyes.

"Hey." Asuka took him by the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. She felt his arms encircle her as he cried softly on her shoulder. But she couldn't help her evil smile. She was one step closer to fulfilling her desire of having Shinji to herself.

"Thanks Asuka," Shinji whispered.

"Sure. I know I _war eine große Schlampe_ once upon a time, but I see now that you do care about me. I'm sorry I went off on you the day I woke up but– " [I know I was a big bitch]

"Hey," he said as he pulled back from her and took her by the shoulders. "_Machen Sie sich nicht im Laufe dass ich verstehe, wie Sie das Gefühl__._" [Don't beat yourself up over that, I know how you felt.]

Asuka's eyes widened. "H-How do you know how to speak German now?!"

Shinji smiled. "_Ich war der Brennpunkt der Instrumentalität. Ich glaube, ich wäre ein wenig dumm, wenn ich nicht halten einige davon._" [I was the focal point of Instrumentality. I think I'd be a little stupid if I didn't retain some of it.] "I was connected to every living mind on the planet. I don't want to brag about it, but I'm a polyglot now."

Asuka chuckled and hugged him. "_Nun sind Sie nicht nur voller Überraschungen!_" [Well aren't you just full of surprises!]

"Thanks," he replied. "I guess I needed the pep talk."

Asuka chuckled. "I know our relationship in the past has been a bit rocky, but how would you like to have dinner tonight? Just the two of us. _Ich werde es wert Ihre Zeit zu machen._" The last sentence she made sound a bit more seductive. [I'll make it worth your time.]

Part of Shinji didn't want to betray Rei, but it was now fighting the part of him that needed the love that his life was so void of. Need was beating out his sense of honor as he felt his blood heat up in his veins. He can't deny that he was always attracted to Asuka. Her free spirited and assertive personality was intoxicating, and being half German made her exotic in ways he would never have thought possible. Though the problem he had now was the fact that she grew and developed little since her coma. Though she did have the air about her of a young woman rather than a teenage girl, she still looked like the latter.

_'I wonder if this is how Kaji felt?' _he thought to himself. But he knew she was old enough now, unlike before. He was staring at the holy grail of scores, according to most guys. Asuka was old enough to be mature and legal yet young enough looking to be classified as resembling a "forbidden fruit". In the end, desire won out over his good sense.

"_Wie konnte ich mich weigere?_" he replied which brought on another hug and a happy and somewhat childish squeak of joy from the redhead. [How could I refuse?]

"Say eight o'clock?" she offered.

"Sounds good, I'll pick you up at the South Lock then?"

"Perfect! I'll wear something nice for you."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek but since Shinji was in the process of turning his head she caught the edge of his lips instead, causing the former Third Child to blush slightly at the contact. Asuka didn't seem to mind as she happily trotted off to her side of the locker room.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he whispered to himself. "I hope this doesn't backfire in my face. I love Rei, but... Do I deny myself companionship now when I know there is a high probability I'll never get her back? I'll humor Asuka, but I hope she doesn't expect more than just companionship for now. I can do no more."

* * *

Shinji arrived at the south lock in Misato's Renault. He managed to convince the Commander of NERV to let him borrow her car since he had yet to get his own. Asuka was dressed in the perfect little red dress which made Shinji almost wish he wasn't so infatuated with Rei.

"So where are you taking me?" she asked seductively. "We could skip dinner and go straight to dessert, you know." A seductive smile crossed her face causing Shinji to blush uncontrollably. She chuckled softly. "Sorry, Shinji-kun, didn't mean to embarrass you like that."

"Of course you did," Shinji said with humor in his voice. "I know how you and Misato always liked to tease me. At least now I take it better."

"True," she replied.

"I was thinking of taking us to a new place that opened on the south side. They serve authentic German dishes there."

Asuka looked skeptical. "How authentic?"

"I have it on good authority that you can't get any closer to the real thing unless you were in Germany proper. I figured it was at least worth a try."

Asuka smiled. "Getting adventurous now?"

"Well... _'__Wenn Sie noch nie versucht'_..." [If you never try...]

" '_Du wirst nie wissen.'_ Decided to take chances at last? Where was this Shinji five years ago?" [You'll never know.]

"I wish I knew," he said sadly. "I was such a wuss back then, huh?"

Asuka chuckled lightly and nodded.

"I was so worried about being hurt or hurting other people, that it just made sense to me to just be alone and not rock the boat as much as possible. It felt to me like anything I ever tried to do to make my loneliness go away only served to push people further away from me."

"I'm sorry," Asuka whispered.

"Huh?" Shinji couldn't believe his ears. "Why are you apologizing?"

Asuka turned her head towards the passenger window. "Because I know that I'm at least partially to blame for all of that."

"Asuka, don't blame yourself."

"There isn't anyone else to blame. I was insensitive, cruel, and self-serving. I didn't care about your feelings. All I cared about was myself. I was so obsessed with the man I couldn't have that I pushed away the one that actually cared about me."

To hear Asuka admit something like that drove home just how mature she had become, despite her lack of physical aging.

"Ergo... I'm sorry," she turned back to face him breathing a sigh of relief. "There, I said it. I finally admitted I was wrong."

Shinji didn't know what to say except what she probably wanted to hear.

"I hated you for a while you know, but in the end, I could never stay mad at you," he replied. "I forgive you."

Asuka smiled slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't tell me you were sorry too."

"I am, but it's not what you want to hear." Asuka let her breath go when he said this. "I know you wanted to be forgiven, and I've already done that for you."

"_Danke__,_" she replied. [Thank you.]

* * *

Dinner passed in relative peace. The two of them talked about random things like their aspirations after the war was over, how they would try to live their lives. Never once did Shinji allude to Asuka that he was interested in her as more than just a friend.

_He can be so frustrating, _Carnage noted.

_'You don't know the half of it,' _Asuka replied internally before she realized that yes, as a matter of fact Carnage did know. As they have become so close to each other now, Carnage has most of Asuka's memories, some of which even Asuka doesn't realize she actually remembers.

_You won't bag him tonight._

_'Probably not, but I can be patient. I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer.'_

After dinner, Shinji parked the car about half a block from the South Lock.

"Well, I enjoyed the evening," Shinji said. "I think I needed this... Thank you."

Asuka smiled sweetly. "What are friends for?" she replied. "Of course, if you were good enough to walk me to my apartment in C-Block, I could show my gratitude a little more... completely."

Her hand ran over his chest, eliciting some intense sensations within him, and Shinji found himself nearly at the mercy of his hormones. He looked at Asuka as she brought her face closer to his with intentions he could easily read, and he was so close to reciprocating these feelings.

Then he thought of Rei. His mind fashioned her image, standing outside the car looking hopeless and lost, saddened by what she saw happening in the car. He trembled instantly remembering who it was he was truly in love with.

"No," he whispered and gently pushed Asuka away from him. Asuka looked detracted but it seemed as if she was expecting that reaction. Even still, she couldn't help but look disappointed.

"I do love you, Asuka," he explained. "But not the way I love Rei. I still cling to the hope that she can be saved. I... I know what you want from me, and I'm sorry. I can't give it to you the way you want it."

"Not yet," Asuka finished for him. Shinji looked up almost insulted by what she said, but a part of him realized that she could very well be right. "Look, Shinji. I know you're in love with Ayanami... I don't blame you. She's exotic and very attached to you and I know boys seem to like girls that remind them of their mother... Of course, in this case, it's more literal."

"Asuka, please," Shinji begged.

"I'm sorry. The point is, you and I both know that the possibility is very high that Wonder Girl could very well be gone. Shinji, I'll always love you. Even if she comes back, I won't stop loving you. I want to make sure you know that, because if the worst does happen... I'll be here for you."

"Asuka," he whispered softly, overwhelmed by her words. "I'm... I'm truly sorry you have to put up with this."

"Don't apologize, baka," she said playfully. "It doesn't suit you anymore." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she opened the car door and stepped out. "We really should do this more often though, even if Rei comes back."

"Um... O-Ok, I can do that," He smiled back at her. She waved goodbye and walked towards the entrance to NERV.

_The seed is planted._

_'Yes, and now we have to make sure that Rei is no longer a problem. We have to hunt her down and finally destroy her.'_

_Where do we start looking?_

_'Don't know yet. We'll have to try to track her after our next entanglement. Then, we run her to ground.'_

* * *

Venom whipped around the corner of the building at high speed, swinging from one of her black tendrils. The speed she was moving at when the tendril released launched her forward in a shallow descending arc towards a horizontal flagpole. She grasped it a flipped around it like an Olympian, throwing herself straight up. At the height of the arc, she pulled her knees up a bit and launched another tendril before gravity could take hold. It caught the edge of another building pulling her into another swing as she fell. The force sent her over the building where she tucked and flipped three times before landing in a low crouch.

_That was a lot better, _Venom offered.

_'We still have a long way to go,' _Rei replied to the compliment. _'We're still not good enough. The next time we fight Carnage, we'll need to be in perfect synch. Otherwise, we don't stand a chance.'_

_Need I remind you that even at full synch, we might not have enough power to defeat her?_

_'No. We already know that well enough.'_

_Yes, we do._

Venom stood up, walking to the edge of the building. She was in a deserted section of Nakameguro, using the vacant streets and buildings as her own personal obstacle course. There hasn't been a single living soul here for a long time, and in the dark night, Rei had to rely on the enhanced vision granted by her symbiote to even see what she was doing. It pushed the limits of their partnership.

_On the plus side, you got me to agree to only eat the so called 'bad people', so that's something right?_

_'It's a start if nothing else. We should try cattle next.'_

Rei sighed as the exo-skin pulled itself back inside her body. She walked to the edge of the building and looked down over the dark streets.

"Is this all that I will be now?"

_No._

"How can you say that? We're fugitives, we have to murder to survive, and all of Japan is looking for us by now."

_Are you really gonna give up hope on me now that we're finally starting to see eye-to-eye? What is with you anyway?_

"You already know the answer to that. You know how I lived, and you know I'm still not very good with emotions."

_Hey, you know, I think I saw a bunch of discarded popsicle sticks in the alley we passed by._

"And what am I going to do with those?"

_Build a bridge, and get over it already! You've been struggling with your emotions all your life. Now I admit that this hasn't exactly been an easy time for you, my raping you notwithstanding, but by now you should have at least some kind of handle on them._

Rei remained silent, allowing her symbiote to berate her.

_Billions of people on this world have lived with or still live with emotions. Some of them are pretty overwhelmed by them just like you but for different reasons. Now I know you want to become more human. The first step is getting ahold of your feelings and stop feeling sorry for your fucking self._

Rei breathed out a sigh. "You make it sound so easy."

_And it ain't. But wake up, toots, nothin' in this life is easy. Even I had it hard back during my days off world. Granted, my problems were a bit different, but eventually we get past them and move on. And that's what we've got to do now. 'Cause until you do that... we'll never beat Carnage._

"I understand," she replied.

_Yeah? Well, you better. Now, let's do this thing again and see if we can't do it perfect this time._

Rei nodded as the exo-skin began to cover her body again. "If only for Shinji's sake... The next time we face Carnage..."

The exo-skin covered her face, completing the transformation into Venom.

"... _**we won't lose."**_

* * *

**End of Chapter IX**

* * *

_I push my fingers into my eyes..._

_It's the only thing, that slowly stops the ache,_

_But it's made of all, the things I have to take_

_Jesus it never ends, it works its way inside,_

_if the pain goes on, I'm not gonna make it_

–_Slipknot, Duality_


	10. Ruin, Part I

**X: Ruin, Part I**

* * *

"It seems like the better equipped our troops are, the harder these symbiotes are to kill," Major Tashima reported. Back again in the office of the Supreme Commander, Misato's mood this time was more somber rather than enraged.

"So, we start carrying incendiary ammo and this 'Carnage' targets them first," Misato added. "She's smart, this one. She must have figured out which soldiers were carrying the rounds that could kill her."

"Well, the only good news this time is this," Ritsuko said. "The sonic blasters are operational, and mass production is already underway. It will be harder for the symbiotes to defend against this type of weapon."

"Get them outfitted as soon as possible," Misato ordered. She leaned back in the chair looking tired and worn. "We have to stop them before this entire city falls into the grip of chaos."

"You look like hell," Ritsuko noted. "When was the last time you slept?"

"What day is it again?" Misato asked.

"That wasn't funny Misato."

"I wasn't joking," she deadpanned. "I don't think I've slept well ever since we found out Rei was Venom." She turned her chair towards the window and watched as the light began to dim in the Geofront. "I don't think I even can at this point. I'm tired of this, Rits. I'm tired, heartbroken, and I feel completely helpless. As much as I want to, I don't think I can save Rei. And now that I know that another innocent has fallen victim to this thing, I feel terrible."

"Misato," Ritsuko whispered, trying to console her friend.

"Leave me," Misato ordered. "Both of you."

"But Misato, I–"

"Just go," she ordered again in a low voice, gesturing with her left hand.

Ritsuko's face took a sad appearance as she nodded to Tashima and they both left the room.

Once the door was closed, Misato breathed a heavy sigh as tears began to fall from her eyes. She thought about Rei, and how she must be suffering and struggling with this thing. And then she thought about her own helplessness and inability to stop them.

She turned her chair back to her desk and picked up her coffee cup. She held it in her trembling hand as the feelings turned from weakness to utter frustration. With a cry of anger, she threw the ceramic mug with all her might, hearing it shatter against a nearby wall. The sudden sound was what finally shattered her floodgates and she cried hard.

* * *

Venom returned to her hideout in Nakameguro after another hard session of personal training.

_Ok so... cow... not so bad, _Venom commented.

"_Well, you remember the roast beef sandwich I had a couple of days ago right? Where do you think the meat came from?"_

_Heh, go figure... Um, we have company._

Venom looked over by the stairwell from the tower and saw Shinji standing there. She hopped onto the top floor from the windowsill and let the exo-skin retract from her body returning her to normal.

"I don't remember the spider symbol," Shinji said calmly.

"Recent addition," she replied. "Shinji-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," he said resolutely.

"I asked you to forget me."

"Rei, I have moved the heavens themselves to bring you back to this world. I'll be damned if I let you go now. If you and the symbiote are a package deal now, I'll just have to deal with it."

Rei didn't know what to say.

"You don't know what you're–"

"I do," he interrupted. "I don't care. I know the real you is right here. I think you're wrong though. I think you can separate yourself from this thing, and if you can't, I don't care anymore. I need you Rei... I can't do this without you anymore."

"Shinji-kun," she whispered.

He cleared the distance between them in just a couple of seconds and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her with all of his desperation all at once. It felt wonderful to Rei. Her arms snaked around him pulling him as close to her as she could. The symbiote within faded into the background and, for now at least, she felt something she hadn't felt since her first nightmares about the symbiote...

… Freedom.

* * *

"What now?" Rei asked as they both sat in the window sill. Rei was dressed in only her panties and camisole top but Shinji wore the same outfit he always wore.

"I wish I knew," Shinji replied. "I know you won't come with me back to NERV."

"No, I can't." She sighed. "Venom and I are one, I can't change that. And unless I can get it under control, everyone around me is in danger."

"Not like we're all that safe," Shinji replied. Especially with Carnage running around.

Rei's eyes narrowed darkly. "Carnage... I have to kill her."

"Do you know who she is?"

Rei was about to answer when Venom came out of submergence.

_He won't believe you, _she cautioned.

"No," she lied. "I don't know who she is. But, based on her combat style, she's given herself over to the symbiote completely. She revels in her own madness."

"That's terrible. Who could do something like that?"

"Whoever they are, they're disturbed and probably need to be put in a psycho ward somewhere, assuming they can even be saved."

"Which you don't believe," he pointed out.

"I'm sorry, Shinji," she said sadly. "Whoever it is, they have to die."

* * *

Misato woke up at 3am in the NERV Infirmary. She felt discombobulated and groggy.

"Where am I?" she asked sleepily.

"Room 252-84," Ritsuko replied. "You cried yourself to sleep and wouldn't wake up when I tried to wake you, so I had you moved down here. I believe you had a nervous breakdown."

"Color me shocked," Misato groaned as she settled back down. "You use a sedative on me or something?"

"Not yet. I highly suggest you get some more rest though."

"Then hit me with the good stuff," Misato said. "I'm not sleeping any other way."

"I'll wake you at noon," Ritsuko replied and started the IV Drip. Within moments, the commander was unconscious. "Sleep well."

Ritsuko walked out of the room and nearly ran into Maya.

"You ok?" she asked. But instead of getting a response, Maya threw herself onto Ritsuko, leaned up hard and kissed her. The rather short Operations Director of NERV had to stand on her tip-toes in order to execute this maneuver but she pulled it off. Ritsuko was stunned at first but fell into the motion quickly, wrapping her arms around her tiny friend.

When they parted, Ritsuko was left breathless and tried to get her heartbeat under control.

"I had to," Maya said, answering without the question being asked. She laid her head against Ritsuko's chest and held on to her sempai.

"I was wondering when you would," Ritsuko replied. "You hadn't tried to do that since..." She stopped talking. She had no idea if Maya had any memory of the event or not.

"Third Impact," she finished. "I remember."

"How?"

Maya shrugged slightly, without breaking her hold on Ritsuko. "Perhaps my soul wanted to be one with you so much that it refused to let me forget that singular moment when we were. Maybe Shinji didn't want me to forget for some reason. I don't know why I remember the day that never was, but I do... I remember it with crystal clarity; every moment, every scream, every sigh, every event." She shuddered slightly. "I remember all the good parts and the bad ones. I was afraid my soul would lie in ruins, considering how much I remembered. And after I talked with Shinji, I started wishing I didn't remember it. If what he told me is true, we were so close to oblivion that it wouldn't have taken much to push us over the edge. He did us all a favor in the end."

"Hey, calm down," Ritsuko nearly whispered as she rubbed the girl's back to try to relax her. "I understand. There are so many things beyond the boundaries of science and philosophy that we can never truly understand them. I know that. What's important now is that we have each other."

"You know, I originally wasn't going to approach you with this," Maya admitted. "But I can't live without you."

Ritsuko placed her forehead against Maya's and closed her eyes. Maya's eyes followed suit and she smiled, even as a few tears of joy left the corners the windows of her soul.

* * *

Back in the clock-tower, Rei was eating lunch when for the first time since last night, Venom spoke to her. What she said made Rei stop.

_We should go to him._

"What?" Rei whispered. "I thought you hated him."

_I did... I was afraid he was going to take you from me..._

Rei put her spoon down, leaving her soup alone for the moment. "Are you in love with me or something?"

_Not in the sense you're thinking of. _She didn't expect that answer at all. _I'm bonded to you. What you told Shinji is true for me as much as it is true for you. When he came here and you spent that rather tender time with him... I guess it... touched me in a way._

"You're supposed to be a heartless killing machine," Rei pointed out.

_I know that! I've always been like that. But there is something about him, something very different. I thought all that talk about moving Heaven and Earth and killing angels was bullshit... I know differently now._

"I see." Rei sighed. "Its broad daylight, you know. It's going to be very hard to move around without being seen."

_But you sense it too. Shinji needs us._

"Yes," Rei replied, placing a hand over her heart. "My senses are tingling like they're trying to warn me of something. And when I think about Shinji, they get stronger."

_Precognition... We have that capacity. It's like how the spiders on this world sometimes seem to know how to dodge a blow or can sense an attack from a rival creature._

"Spider-sense."

_A good a name as any._

"Has an nice ring to it," Rei replied as she changed back into her modified plug suit.

_You know you really don't need to wear that. You don't need to wear anything at all. I can change my appearance to normal clothing if you want. No one would be able to tell the difference._

"Ok, I'm already grossed out slightly by the fact that you live inside me–"

_Whatever. Look, we're basically the same now. While we still have a bit to go, you have to accept that we're becoming one. If you can get used to using me as your clothing as well as your combat uniform and personal arsenal, we'd come one step closer to being in synch with each other._

Rei couldn't find a hole in the argument.

_And no, I'm not going to randomly disappear in public and embarrass you._

Rei blushed faintly at that thought, then sighed and took her hands off the plug suit.

"Ok," she said in a low voice. "We'll play it your way." She took off her camisole top and slipped out of her panties. Once she did so she shivered slightly as she felt the cold creeping into areas less comfortable.

_Don't worry, I'll keep us warm. _Though the words could have sounded seductive, Venom's tone was that of assurance.

The exo-skin exuded from her skin and covered her. Starting at the bottom and working her way up it changed it her school shoes, socks, and uniform. Rei looked at herself with astonishment. It even felt like her old uniform, though re-sized for her current body.

"Um... wow."

_Perhaps something a little less conspicuous though._

From feet to face, the outfit changed again. This time to boots, jeans, a long sleeved sweatshirt with a hood, and a simple leather belt. Lastly sunglasses covered her eyes.

_Section-2 and Section-4 are going to have a harder time spotting you like this._

"Good," Rei replied. "Let's head out then."

* * *

About two hours later, Shinji tried to relax in front of the TV at the Katsuragi Apartment but was having issues with it. His meeting with Rei last night was still fresh in his mind.

"_Now I feel even guiltier about spending time with Asuka," _he thought to himself. He knew the girl wanted him more, but now that he was getting through to Rei, he felt hope that he could be with the woman he truly loved.

"If you love someone, you look past their faults," he whispered to himself.

"I can't believe you're still pining for Wondergirl," Asuka said as she entered the living room.

Shinji got to his feet. "A-Asuka! W-What are you doing here?!"

"Did I catch you by surprise, baka?" she asked as she walked towards him, rolling her hips as she did so. She was wearing the same dress she once wore on the _Over the Rainbow_. "Why wish for something so frigid when you can have something nice and hot instead?"

"Asuka, please, we've been over this." Shinji backed away from her. He didn't like that predatory look in her eyes.

"I refuse to wait forever for you. We both know that Rei will never be what you need her to be. Let me be the one to fill the gap." She tugged on one of the shoulder ties allowing that side of the dress to fall dangerously close to revealing her assets to him.

"Asuka, please, don't do this," Shinji backed into a corner as Asuka made sure he had nowhere to go. As she pulled the other tie opened, the outfit fell from her other shoulder and revealed her in most of her glory. She stepped out of the dress and Shinj found it hard to look away. Her skin was so young and supple, free from blemishes and imperfections...

"_Wait..."_

"Asuka," he whispered, trying to get his hormones under control. This was a difficult proposition since she was wearing nothing more than a pair of red bikini underwear. "Where are your scars?"

"What do you–?" she cut herself off realizing her mistake. Just a couple of days ago, he saw her topless and saw the cracker sized scars on her body including the line on her arm where it was split. Because of the Carnage symbiote, all those scars were gone.

_Shit, _Carnage whispered in her mind.

"_**Get away from him!" **_Venom demanded.

Asuka turned to see Venom in the opened window crouched down with one claw holding onto the wall. She hissed at her which took Shinji by surprise.

"Asuka, what the hell?!"

"_**Shinji-kun, get away from her."**_

"No, Shinji," Asuka said. "Stay away from Venom. She doesn't deserve you."

"...Carnage," Shinji whispered in realization. "No..."

"_**We're sorry, Shinji-kun," **_Venom confessed. _**"We should have told you. We didn't think you'd believe us."**_

"So," Asuka began she used her fingernail to slash one of her own arms allowing her exo-skin to bleed across her. "The two of you have finally gotten yourselves together, huh. _About ti__**me. Now we can have a real fight!"**_ Once the Carnage transformation was completed, the red exo-skin shifted and undulated like a current of blood across her body.

"_**Bring it, uber-slut," **_Venom taunted. _**"We're ready for you this time."**_

Carnage hissed and launched a series of nasty red blades at Venom. The black symbiote responded by dropping below the attack inside the apartment from the sill and launching forward into a dual tentacle strike that knocked her away from Shinji. The young man ran to the far side of the room as the two symbiotes proceeded to begin trashing the apartment with their struggle.

"This... can't be," Shinji whispered. But the evidence was right there before him. He saw Asuka had no scars and he watched her transform into Carnage. Somehow, both of the young women he cared about in his life had become tainted by alien symbiotes. Even amidst the battle raging near him, he could focus on nothing else. "Does the universe hate me this much?"

Several darts of red were knocked away by tendrils of black before they fired into the red symbiote, throwing it into the TV. The poor electronic device shattered and sparked in its own death throes, but Carnage was nearly unfazed by the strike.

"_**So, you HAVE gotten better at this," **_she hissed. _**"About damn time. I was hoping for something a bit more sporting than our last confrontation."**_

"_**Shut your mouth and fight, bitch," **_Venom taunted.

Carnage leapt upon Venom with her claws extended puncturing her chest, but the black symbiote seemed unphased by the attack. Instead two tendrils wrapped around Carnage from under her first and pulled in two directions causing Carnage to spin laterally over her like a errant diver. While spinning, Venom braced her hands on the floor and kicked with both of her feet, sending Carnage through the ceiling and into the apartment upstairs. As Carnage attempted to get back up she saw a black tendril fire though the hole and stick into the ceiling. Venom propelled herself though the hole delivering a nasty uppercut on the way up and throwing Carnage back again. Venom stuck the ceiling on all fours and launched two more tendrils into Carnage, this time penetrating her chest, and threw her though a nearby wall. Carnage hit the foot of a bed causing its two occupants to scream in fear and flee. The man and woman took barely a moment to grab a blanket to cover themselves as Carnage got back to his feet and was promptly dive-tackled by Venom again.

Venom delivered two nasty claw attacks into Carnage's chest before kicking off to avoid a series of blades that extended from the red symbiote's chest in retaliation.

"_**You're learning," **_Carnage said dryly as she got back to all fours and hissed at Venom who was in a similar stance.

"_**You may been better than us as an EVA pilot, but you'll never destroy my will to win," **_Venom hissed. _**"The biggest mistake you made was going after Shinji-kun. Now you suffer!" **_

On the floor below, Shinji was running for the stair well, and his mind was racing just as hard.

"_Goddammit, what the hell do I do now?" _He lamented. _"Both of the women I love are infected with symbiotes! How the hell do I fix this?" _But he knew he couldn't realistically fix it. He didn't have that power anymore. If he were still the focal point of Third Impact... if he were still a god... he could simply will the symbiotes gone and save them both. He suddenly realized just how powerless he was now and it frustrated him beyond reason.

"I have to do something," he said between pants as he ran up the stairs to the next floor. He saw windows shatter at the front side of the apartments and rain glass into the streets. He heard the screams below and more authoritarian figures yelling for backup.

"_Shit... Section-4."_

Several black SUV's rolled up and dislodged black suited Section-2 operatives along with Spec-ops equipped Section-4 agents.

Venom was thrown into a refrigerator by Carnage and then had it collapse on her by virtue of the tendrils that dragged it on top of her.

"_**Damn you, Wonderslut! STAY DOWN!"**_ Carnage yelled.

"_**Fuck you both," **_Venom replied as she rose up. She grabbed the refrigerator and threw it into Carnage hard enough to send her sprawling under it in the next room. Carnage formed her back into a series of lashing scything blades and tore the appliance into pieces, kicking several towards Venom which were promptly blocked with tendrils.

Carnage slammed into Venom again, putting her through the wall where the refrigerator was. They ended up in the kitchen of the next apartment. Neither took notice of the sound of gas escaping from the nearby destroyed stove. The wrenching damage done to the gas line was causing the previous apartment to fill quickly.

"_**He's mine, damn it!" **_Carnage hissed and she threw a coffee table at Venom only to have the projectile smashed in halves by a battering tendril. _**"You had your chance!"**_

"_**No," **_Venom said resolutely. _**"He'll never be yours. He doesn't love you the way he loves me."**_

"_**I can give him what he needs. You can't say the same."**_

"_**You don't know what he needs," **_Venom cut back. _**"You think your body is all he really needs or wants. You don't know shit about shit, bitch. I know what he desires. He wants to be loved, he wants a companion, not a fuck-slave."**_

Carnage laughed. _**"You know nothing about men. Or maybe you're just to naïve to understand what it is men really want."**_

"_**And a little 14-year-old wannabe woman who chased after a man more than twice her age knows how to give Shinji what he wants? You may have gotten older, but your maturity hasn't caught up to you."**_

"Both of you stop it!" Shinji cried as he ran in to the room putting himself between them.

"_**Shinji-kun, you shouldn't be here," **_Venom cautioned.

"I don't want you both to kill each other!" he cried with tears in his eyes. "I want you both to live!"

"_**We can't coexist," **_Carnage stated with finality. _**"Two competing apex predators cannot occupy the same space. And we don't care what happens, we've not going to give you up now that we've come so close!"**_

"But..." Shinji was about to finish that thought when he started coughing.

Carnage figured out what it was almost instantly. _**"Not this shit again,"**_ she hissed as she turned back towards the kitchen. At that moment, a canister flew though the window and landed near the kitchen.

"_**Shinji!" **_Venom yelled and tried to reach him before...

...the canister triggered. The small explosive device that released the tear gas heated the ambient hydrocarbons in the air...

…and the top half of the apartment building exploded into a massive fireball...

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

_Luck runs out_

_Crawl from the wreckage one more time,_

_Horrific memory twists the mind,_

_Dark, rugged, hard to turn,_

_Path of destruction, feel it burn_

_Metallica, All Nightmare Long_

* * *

**A/N:** I had originally intended to release the story in three parts, each consisting of about a third of the story. However, after discussing the situation with Tellemicus Sundance, I've decided to release the remaining chapters, one at a time as I've done in the past.

This was an experiment, one that I feel failed. From now on, I will release only one chapter at a time on all stories. However the new story planning technique seems to be turning out well.

Special thanks again to my writing partner on this one, Tellemicus Sundance, who never fails to come up with good ideas and notice important shit I sometimes miss.

* * *

**Review Replies**

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**Jimbob86:** SOE with a villain is becoming a new thing for me. The idea of turning villains into the main centerpiece and maybe turning them into anti-heroes in the process was something I considered doing during the early days of the SOE Universe. It wasn't until Tellemicus came to me with the Venom vs Carnage story idea that I seriously gave some thought to the premise. I'm hoping other SOE authors, Orionpax especially, jump onto the idea as well.

**Belthasar:** That remains to be seen... Glad to see you again by the way. You're one of my biggest critics but you're input is always welcome.


	11. Ruin, Part II

**XI: Ruin, Part II**

* * *

"But..." Shinji was about to finish that thought when he started coughing.

Carnage figured out what it was almost instantly. _**"Not this shit again,"**_ she hissed as she turned back towards the kitchen. At that moment, a canister flew though the window and landed near the kitchen.

"_**Shinji!" **_Venom yelled and tried to reach him before...

...the canister triggered. The small explosive device that released the tear gas heated the ambient hydrocarbons in the air...

…and the top half of the apartment building exploded into a massive fireball. Debris rained upon the streets below, forcing the men below to run for their lives. Massive sections of the building's superstructure fell to earth, crushing vehicles and throwing up a cloud of dust. A fireball was emitted from the initial explosion that hit the building across the street, bursting through the glass sliding doors of an apartment.

The ball unrolled itself revealing Carnage attempting to put out its burning exo-skin whilst shrieking.

_'Ok, that's twice now we've gotten burned by Wonderslut,' _Asuka thought to her symbiotic partner as she finally patted the flames out.

_Duly noted, _Carnage responded. _We're getting sick of fire._

Carnage stood up to her full height and looked into the remnants of the top of the nearby building. There were no signs of movement at all.

"_No way they're dead," _she whispered.

Another ball of fire flew from the building to the street below, landing in a space free of debris near a fire hydrant. Using a now flaming tendril, Venom slammed off the side cover and blasted both herself and her cargo with water to douse the flames. All the while, Venom was shrieking in pain.

"_**Shinji!" **_Venom cried, trying to wake her love, but he was still. His breathing was slow and labored. She tried to wake him only to hear him moan in pain as he awoke. The concussive force apparently did grave damage to his body, but Venom couldn't determine just how badly he was wounded.

Her senses caught wind of Carnage. She glared up at the red symbiote, while her charred exo-skin tried to shift in a way that allowed her to move easier. But the damage was significant, and Venom doubted much of her symbiotic abilities were still even functional at this point.

"_**You managed to get out alright," **_Venom hissed. _**"If you love him so much, why did you leave him to die?"**_

"_**Silence!" **_Carnage hissed. _**"I'll have him one way or another!"**_

Venom was about to attempt spring into action again when she was hit with a sonic energy wave. The attack nearly tore her exo-skin off and caused her to shriek in pain. Venom's face was clearly visible on the chunk of exo-skin that tore free for a moment and revealed Rei beneath before it snapped back onto her body.

Venom turned to face her new attackers and saw agents from Section-4 loading some strange new weapons. One of them was already operating a weapon that looked like a large, space-age bullhorn. Before Venom could react, the weapon discharged again sending another wave of sonic energy screaming though her body and causing massive pain.

Carnage responded by launching a wave of red spikes into Section-4, cutting them down like vegetation before a shotgun blast. Before Venom could recover, she was caught in one of Carnage's tendrils and dragged up to the apartment. Then Carnage threw the damaged symbiote over her shoulder and took off southward though Tokyo-3.

Several helicopters chased her as she entered the downtown district. She swung from building to building swiftly to try to get some distance, but the aerial units were far faster than she was. With a hiss, she threw herself into a lateral rotation at the height of one of her swings, releasing the tendril and launching another wave of spikes. The razor sharp projections of exo-skin tore through the armor of the nearest helicopter and killed the pilot, sending the machine out of control. Carnage had completed her spin and was in her next swing before the helicopter crashed into a nearby building. The other air units turned back after seeing their buddy go down so easily.

"_**No way are we letting Section-4 get the kill," **_Carnage hissed to the unconscious Venom. _**"You're all ours."**_

* * *

An ambulance rushed Shinji into the infirmary of NERV. He had only brief flashes of florescent lights going by as he was wheeled into an operating room. And he only had the faintest recollection of Doctor Akagi's voice but couldn't make out what she was saying. Perhaps it was something about a medication, or maybe a surgical procedure... but he had no idea.

When he did wake up he was in a lot of pain and groggy. Only one eye was functional and he saw his old guardian sitting by his bedside. She moved as soon as his eye rested upon her.

"Shinji?" Misato asked softly. "Can you hear me?"

Shinji could barely nod. Words were beyond him at the moment.

"You're gonna be ok," she said to him. The tears in her eyes however told him a different story, one he was already well aware of. He wasn't doing well. He couldn't feel anything from his waist down, and what he could feel elsewhere was pain. He knew he had to be badly burned, and his back was likely broken. The difficulty in breathing told him he burned the inside of his lungs as well.

Chances were he didn't have much time left.

His eye closed again. He couldn't concentrate. Fatigue covered him like a warm blanket, easing his suffering. He had no idea if he would wake up again, but he didn't care. Everything he worked for in his life was gone now. Both of the people he cared about were corrupted beyond redemption.

"_And now... for what more do I have to live for?"_

Misato let another tear slip as Shinji fell unconscious again. Ritsuko entered the room silently and waited until she was acknowledged.

"What are his chances Rits?" Misato asked without looking at her.

"Not good," she explained. "His back is broken at the third lumbar, his lungs are burned internally, he has third degree burns over 78 percent of his body, and his spleen was ruptured. I've managed to repair the organ damage, but –"

"I know, Rits," Misato replied. "He's giving up."

"He's been through hell, more than any of us can truly understand. Even the few of us who remember the 'Day That Never Was' will never really understand it. It seems oddly strange that this would kill him in the end, when he once had the movements of the planets themselves at his command, but everyone has a breaking point."

"I think losing Rei was his," she replied. "But it gets worse."

"I know," Ritsuko replied. "I analyzed the blood found in what was left of your apartment. Asuka is Carnage."

Misato looked away. "How could this have happened?"

"I wish I knew," she replied. "I wish I understood how the symbiotes think, or why they select individuals they did."

"What I want to know: is why did Carnage help Venom escape?"

Ritsuko looked down. "Knowing Asuka's profile, she wanted to kill Rei herself. She wasn't about to let anyone else have that honor. I can only hope that Rei can save herself. At this point, no one can save her anymore."

* * *

Venom was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. As she began to awaken from the impact, she could tell from the feel of the wind across her exo-skin she was at a great height.

"_**Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," **_Carnage taunted.

Venom rolled on her side and managed to get herself onto all fours but was still very weak from the damage her body sustained.

"_**Why haven't you killed us yet?" **_Venom asked.

"_**Because it wouldn't be any fun now," **_Carnage explained. _**"You were giving us quite a run before. It really got the blood pumping, let us tell you! We were quite proud of you. So proud in fact that simply killing you off would cheapen the feeling of victory and satisfaction we'll receive at your demise."**_

"_**Cute," **_ Venom commented. _**"So what's the plan now... nurse me back to health so you can kill me later? A bit cliché, don't you think?"**_

"_**Perhaps, but we've gotta know who the better symbiote warrior really is," **_Carnage explained. _**"The only way we'll ever have an opportunity to fight something like you again is if we start having symbiote children of our own and haphazardly gave them out so as to create a legion of enemies that hate our guts and want us dead. But they will never be you, Wondergirl. They'll never have the same pzazz... the same fire. And we'll never hate them nearly as much as we hate you at this moment."**_

Venom's eyes narrowed. _**"What about Shinji?"**_

"_**He's in good hands with NERV, we're sure they'll keep him alive long enough."**_

"_**Long enough for what?"**_

Carnage's tongue lashed momentarily giving the expression of pleasure at her own ideas. _**"When we're done with you, we'll use the energy we get from consuming you to have a new symbiote child. That child will bond with Shinji so we can be together the way we were meant to be... equals."**_

"_**He'll never join you," **_she hissed but coughed, nearly falling on her face.

"_**On the contrary, you know how much a person's mindset changes once they're bonded with a symbiote. We're certain he will join us in causing mayhem and chaos on this miserable little rock called Earth." **_She laughed wickedly. _**"Then one day, we'll control it all together. Just us and him and our symbiote children. We'll dominate this rock together."**_

"_**You're insane," **_Venom deadpanned. For that, her face got slammed into the roof's surface.

"_**Insane?! You are insane for not using your powers to their full extent. You're insane for not embracing your symbiote partner completely when you received it. And that is the reason why when we come for you, you're going to die horribly!"**_

Carnage proceeded to the edge of the building and hopped up onto the edge. _**"You have 24 hours to recover from your current injuries, and then the hunt is on. We'd wish you good luck... but you'll need so much more if you are going to survive our onslaught." **_She laughed wickedly again before she stepped off the edge and allowed herself to drop.

Venom tried to get back up only to fall again.

_It's no good, _Venom told her. _Just lay still, we'll be able to move in a few hours._

"_A few hours is more time than we can spare," _Rei replied.

_I know... We have little choice in the matter though. We can't even move right now. We'll have to hunt immediately after we wake up then try to put distance between Carnage and us to buy more time._

"_We can't abandon Shinji," _Rei protested.

_We won't. But we also know Carnage is not going to touch him until after she deals with us. He's safe for the moment._

Rei finally relented and inwardly nodded before allowing herself to drift into darkness. She hopped she woke up with enough time to prepare herself.

* * *

"We have a new apartment set up for you here at NERV," Tashima reported. "I know this situation has been hard on you."

"You don't know the half of it Noboru-san," Commander Katsuragi replied. "I don't think anyone can understand what I'm going through right now. But we can't focus on it right now."

Misato stood at the window, with her hands behind her back. Tashima noted just how much like Gendo she was becoming, but knew telling her so was a surefire way to get shot, so he wisely kept that thought to himself.

"What's the situation in China?" she asked.

"It's deteriorating rapidly," he replied. "The Diet is already talking about planning military operations into China should the Rebels get a foothold."

"And we have no pilots now," Misato replied darkly. "There's no way we can respond to the threat in our current situation."

"I've been looking into that, Commander," he replied. "I've been able to locate several of the former EVA Candidates, and I believe we can recruit them. So far, Kensuke Ida, Suzahara Touji, Horaki Hikari, and Kirishima Mana have been located."

"Mana?" Misato questioned. "She's a candidate? But she was part of the Trident program."

"Nevertheless, she has what it takes to pilot an EVA. We also have a few candidates from outside of the country, including Makinami Mari from England and Akeem Azad from Saudi Arabia."

"We may have to tap some of those resources, but we only have three EVA's."

"I don't suppose we could gather at least five so we have backups?" Tashima offered.

"No, the cross-synchronization experiments proved that wasn't viable."

"It wasn't viable with the old EVA's," Tashima corrected. "We have yet to try it with the new models."

"Valid point," Misato replied. "But we won't have time at this rate to try." Misato sighed. "Start screening the candidates. Bring me your findings as soon as you're done."

"As you wish."

* * *

Maya sat by the bed of the broken Third Child watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Her frustration at being able to do nothing was quite visible on her face.

Ritsuko walked into the room seeing her girlfriend there, lamenting over the boy they both had come to know and love in their own way. It seemed so strange to both of them that this child who once held sway over heaven and earth would seem so mortal now. Ritsuko held back a sigh and attempted to leave the room when she heard Maya begin to speak.

"You know, I've been wondering why I remember so much," she whispered. "I came up with a few theories. Would you like to hear them?" She paused as if waiting for a response from the young man. "Well then, I think the real reason I remember Third Impact so clearly is because somewhere inside you, deep down, you wanted me to remember it. You knew that some of us would remember that day and you didn't want the world to forget what had happened that day. You wanted the world to learn from those lessons, but so many closed their minds to the truth because it was too hard for them to take.

"I always thought I was a weak person; too mousy to be anything more than a backroom computer tech. And being a lesbian made that even harder, you know. So many people in this country treat it like it's a phase. 'Oh, every girl goes through that in their teenage years' they say. 'They grow out of it. It's the strange ones that don't'." Maya sighed raggedly, holding back tears. "You saw into my soul and you never judged me because my heart yearns for the affections of my own gender. Not even my family could do that for me."

Ritsuko wanted to leave and give Maya her privacy with Shinji. She knew the girl was spilling her heart out to the boy who gave her a reason to live, but she was compelled to stay.

"They disowned me, you know," Maya continued. "It's true. When my father found out that I was into other girls, he yelled at me. And when I asserted my independence to him, he beat me. Well, I was only 15 then... Not much older than you were when you came to us. I suppose I probably shouldn't have talked back to him like that. But I knew it wasn't just a phase. Mom knew it too, and she cried all night long the day it came to light."

Tears slipped from Maya's eyes. "I had to keep what I was a secret from everyone because of how many people had such a bad attitude towards homosexuals in general. 'The world is so underpopulated now,' they would tell me. 'You must do your womanly duty and help repopulate the world. You can't do that if your gay'. It hurt, not because they wouldn't accept that I loved my own gender, but because they made me out to be a devil. Because I would never fall in love with a boy and have children of my own, I was less than human. They made it sound like I didn't care about humanity at all. I think on some level, you know what it is like to be ostracized like that."

Ritsuko was shocked. She had no idea just what Maya had been going through in her life. Ritsuko by nature was bisexual, so she enjoyed the best of both worlds but she never gave a thought about people who were wired in one direction like that. It made sense they would be looked down upon, but she never realized how bad it was for them.

"I'm rambling," Maya said sheepishly. "The point is... You have a big heart. You never judged me even thought I knew you suspected I was like 'that'. And after you saw into my soul during the Impact, you still embraced me in the sea of LCL and told me there was nothing wrong with me... That I was exactly who I was meant to be."

Ritsuko almost gasped at the revelation. Shinji was with her too during the Impact, and now Ritsuko began to wonder if the Impact allowed him somehow to visit everyone he loved at once...

… What if it allowed him to visit everyone in the world? How much of the world's hurt did he willingly take upon his own shoulders?

"So thank you for that," Maya continued. "I don't think this world will be the same without you... So you see, you have to get better! You just..." Tears spilled freely. "You just have to!"

Maya gasped as she was embraced from behind by the woman she loved. Her lip trembled a moment before she turned into Ritsuko's embrace and cried hard. The doctor stroked her hair, trying desperately to calm her down.

"Sempai!" she cried in her lamentation. "Why did this happen?!"

"There are no easy answers, Maya," she whispered calmingly. "I can only promise you that I'll do everything within my power to bring him back to us."

Maya nodded in her embrace but continued crying softly.

* * *

When Venom finally got back to her feet, it was nearly sundown. She realized she had maybe 16 hours left before Carnage came for her, assuming she kept to her promise. Leaping from the building, she decided it was time to hit the cattle ranches to the northwest so she could get her strength back.

Both host and symbiote stayed silent, simply staying on task. They had to get their strength back if they were to have any chance at all of surviving the next battle. The thought was heavy on both of their minds that 24 hours might not be enough time to recover. Carnage had so many advantages over them that it was likely no amount of restoration would bring them victory. But one thought was heavier.

"_He won't survive his injuries," _Rei thought to herself. _"We saw how bad they were. There's no way he could survive that."_

_I know, _Venom replied. _But we have to hope that NERV will find a way to save him._

She breathed out a ragged sigh as they swung towards their destination. _"Hope? That's something I'm quickly running out of."_

_Oh, don't you give up on me now. We've come this far. You've taught me a lot of things I never wanted to learn, but now I'm sort of glad I did._

"_What do you mean?"_

_Look, my entire existence on my homeworld was one of consumption and destruction. There was never anything else. My first few hosts were killed basically by me because I absorbed their minds into my own over time. I was basically a mindless creature. When my mind awakened, and I lost the ability to absorb the mind of my host, I developed the personality you saw when we first became bonded._

"_Manic? Destructive?"_

_Sociopath is probably closer. The only thing I cared about at that point was finding the perfect host and bringing destruction and death to this world. But your experiences made me realize that what I had wasn't any real form of existence. I would never truly evolve that way. I understand things differently now. I'll never be like you, so get that straight now. But random chaos makes me no better than the monster that is hunting us._

_**F"Amazing," **_Venom said aloud. _**"We've finally found common ground. Shinji... for you, we'll fight on. One day we'll be together again... And Carnage is going to pay for everything she's done to us!"**_

Venom swung high into the sky pulling her knees up as she sailed through the air. The worst battle was yet to come, and soon she would be hunted by a monster more powerful than her. But that didn't matter anymore. Both symbiote and host knew that together they would somehow find a way to win...

* * *

**End of Chapter XI**

* * *

_How can I be lost,_

_If I've got nowhere to go?_

_Searched the seas of gold,_

_How come it's got so cold?_

_How can I be lost?_

_In remembrance I relive,_

_And how can I blame you,_

_When it's me I can't forgive?_

– _Metallica, Unforgiven III_

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**Review Replies**

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**The 17th Immortal:** Not possible since Ritsuko already mentioned it would take too long to create a new symbiote. However, that isn't saying there isn't other things she could potentially do but maybe she's unwilling to do them. Next chapter will get into that more.

Thanks to everyone who is following this story. Review if you'd like, it lets me and Sundance know how we're doing!


	12. Change

**XII: Change**

* * *

"He's gotten better," Ritsuko explained to Misato. "But he's not going to survive much longer. There is far too much internal damage. I'm sorry."

Misato expected the news, but now that she's heard it for herself, it was a different matter altogether.

"Is there nothing that can be done at this point?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko hesitated before she gave her response. "I'm sorry."

Misato's eyes narrowed. "That didn't answer my question," she said dangerously.

Ritsuko's heart skipped a beat. She'd never heard her friend sound like that.

"There is nothing that can be reasonably done to save his life at this point. Does that answer satisfy your–? "

"What about unreasonably?" Misato interrupted.

Ritsuko stayed silent. She had some ideas on what could be done, but every one of her strategies would turn the young man into a monster. She hesitated far too long on her response for her friend, and said friend then did something Ritsuko never thought she'd do. Misato was instantly to her feet and grabbed Ritsuko by the front of her outfit, yanking her closer even as Ritsuko tried to use her hands to pry the Commander's hands from her lab coat.

"Goddamn you, Ritsuko Akagi!" she nearly screamed. "If there is _ANYTHING_ you can do to save his life, then _FUCKING DO IT!_ I'll be damned if the boy I virtually raised as a son dies on my watch because someone wouldn't do a fucking thing about it! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Ritsuko was shaken by the slightly younger woman and, for the life of her, she was terrified to try to stop her.

Ritsuko could only nod. This caused Misato to drop the doctor and try to get both her breathing and her temper under control.

"I can't just simply make another symbiote for him, it would take too long," she explained. "But much of my research on it was about pulling apart the symbiote genome. Hence why I knew sonic weapons would be effective. It may be possible to... to..."

"To what?" Misato demanded.

"Well... the symbiote genome is basically a _Tabula Rasa_ of sorts. It's designed to be ever-shifting, hence the reason it bonds to other life forms the way it does. If it's combined with another form of DNA, it could potentially be used to create a mutagenic formula instead of a symbiotic creature. In this way, it would take significantly less time, maybe no more than a day to make the formula and apply it."

"What are the side effects of this?" Misato asked cautiously.

"Hell if I know," Ritsuko admitted. "_Theoretically,_ something like this would either save his life or potentially kill him through uncontrolled mutation."

"Either way, its better than his current situation."

Ritsuko blinked. "You can't be–"

"I am," she cut in forcefully. "Start working on the mutagen."

Ritsuko was beyond words now. She struggled with the reality of what Misato was asking her to do.

"Is there a problem, Doctor?" she asked in a tone that was _way_ too close to Gendo for her taste.

"I... was just wondering what DNA to use to combine with the mutagen."

Misato thought a moment. "You said Shinji has had brief periods of lucidity? Why not ask him what he thinks. It's his body."

"What if he says no to the mutagen?"

"He won't."

Ritsuko was flustered. "How can you be sure?"

"Because he wants to help Rei, and he knows he can't do that in his current state."

_'What's happening to you Misato?' _Ritsuko asked internally as she nodded her acquiescence. '_Are you turning into Gendo because you're Supreme Commander now? Or is it something even more sinister?'_

* * *

24 hours exactly. That was the amount of time Venom was allotted by Carnage. 24 hours and 43 minutes was all it took from the time Carnage left her on the roof, till she caught up with Venom in the waterfront district of Yokosuka.

The town of Yokosuka had been moved onto the slopes of Mount Ogusu, the central high point of the peninsula the main city once stood upon. After Second and later Third Impact, most of the peninsula had been turned into an island. Yokosuka had been abandoned for the most part, but the rebuilt Neo-Yokosuka boasted a decent sized population of about 5000 people.

At least five dozen of these people were now running for their lives as two symbiotic monsters fought on the buildings near the shoreline. Venom was thrown through another mostly wooden home with enough force to punch through the other side and land on her back in the alleyway. She quickly got back on all fours and scurried away as Carnage tore through the building after her.

"_**You can run but you can't hide," **_the red symbiote taunted.

_'Well this isn't going as we planned at all,' _Rei thought as she continued her attempt at escaping the claws of the symbiote. Most of her symbiotic powers were still not working for her, and she needed more time to recover from the damage she sustained. The sonic waves used against her yesterday did a lot more damage than either the symbiote or Rei herself had first realized.

Carnage launched more razor sharp blades forged from her own exo-skin at Venom. Most missed, but a few managed to catch Venom in the back. Normally, her exo-skin could absorb the impact but they now stuck to her. Blood oozed across the exo-skin as the blades bit deeply into a cut into the host's back.

"_**Guess you aren't so strong, after all," **_Carnage taunted again. _**"A pity. We were beginning to enjoy the hunt. But all good things must come to an end." **_She launched another series of blades from above. This time, one was aimed at the back of her neck. Venom quickly rolled to her side to avoid what would have been a kill-shot and ran deeper into town.

_'Gotta stay ahead of her,' _Rei thought.

_She's faster than we are, _Venom conceded. _There's_ _no way we'll survive this unless we think of something pretty damn clever._

Then the idea came to Rei. The same idea came to Venom, and suddenly they picked up speed towards the main drainage plant for the city.

"_**Useless," **_Carnage hissed. _**"You're only delaying the inevitable."**_

Venom burst through the doors, taking workers by surprise. Screams echoed though the catwalks above and below as Venom maneuvered past them and made her way further down into the facility. She used her tendrils on the overhanging pipes to slow her decent to a reasonable speed but no slower. Carnage burst in a moment later, launching blades and spines at a break-neck pace, trying to take Venom out before she either lost her or Venom managed to get the upper hand somehow.

Venom hit the ground floor, rolling once. This knocked the blades in her back loose, though it did more damage to her back. The exo-skin quickly covered the wounds to prevent further bleeding. Using a tendril, Venom ripped a manhole cover from its housing and threw it at Carnage before dropping into the main storm drains. Carnage dodged the projectile and followed.

Carnage ran along the walls trying to catch up to Venom but was blocked when Venom suddenly managed to cut a main water line ahead. The force of the water threw her back and kept her occupied a full eight seconds before the automatic cut-off triggered and Carnage was able to continue the pursuit. Tracking by scent, she reached an outlet pipe and ran to the edge.

The pipe opened into the main storm trench. Below, water flowed towards the north end of the harbor where it would be taken away by the pacific current. But there were no signs of Venom. Carnage noticed the pipe stuck out and figured she had to be under the pipe so she swung down there on all fours. Venom wasn't there either.

"_**No way she jumped," **_Carnage commented. But there was no other place to go from here. Her scent was no longer strong in the tunnel; meaning she came this way, but she didn't double back. She had to have jumped.

And the current below was swift. Carnage ran on all fours along the retaining wall following the concrete lined trench towards the ocean. She knew it was possible Venom had gone back into the drainage system from another outlet. If that were the case, she'd have a hard time finding her now.

The red symbiote shrieked in rage and started her desperate search.

In the tunnel, Venom raised up out of the water from the side. An access ledge for workers hung over part of the pipe and Venom had hidden herself under it when Carnage went by.

_That was too close._

_'It bought us some time at any rate. She went towards the end of the waterfront, so we head inland, back towards Tokyo-3.'_

_She'll expect that._

_'Perhaps, but it will be the last place she checks in the area.'_

Venom climbed out of the pipe and got back on the surface. Heading north, she made a B-line for Tokyo-3. But she didn't know how much longer she could keep up this pace.

* * *

Shinji began to wake up. His one good eye opened slightly and a blurry world of pain greeted him.

_'Why am I still alive? Do I have some purpose yet to fulfill?'_

"Shinji?" the voice of Ritsuko asked him.

His eye opened further. He really couldn't see that well but he managed to make out her features.

"I... I'm here... Doctor," he weakly replied.

"Shinji, I have something to tell you," She paused. "I think I found a way to save your life, and perhaps give you the strength to save the girls... But it's risky."

Shinji stirred. He felt a strength try to flex within him.

"What... risks?"

"It may give you the strength and the regenerative powers to repair the damage and give you power of your own... or it could kill you... horribly."

"Shinji?" Misato's voice rang. He turned his head to the other direction. "I know this is a tough decision. But I know you're a strong young man now. I know you want to help Rei. This may be your only chance to do that."

"Misato!" Ritsuko snapped. "Don't tell him that! We don't even know if–"

"I'll do it," Shinji interrupted weakly. Ritsuko closed her eyes. "I'll risk the treatment."

"Shinji, you don't have to do this," Ritsuko told him.

"I'm dead either way," Shinji replied. "I should be dead now. I can only assume at this point that the reason I'm still alive is because I have work to do yet. So you see, it will be okay. This process will work, and I'll recover. Then I'll save Rei and Asuka and everything will be well again."

"The process can't be reversed," Ritsuko cautioned.

"I don't care," Shinji replied.

Ritsuko sighed. "Alright then. The only thing that remains is a decision on your part. The mutagen is derived from the DNA of the symbiote, but it's incomplete. I need an animal genome to combine with it in order to complete the mutagen. You'll probably take on some of the aspects of that animal, assuming this works."

Shinji thought about that for a moment. It took no time at all for the answer to jump into his head.

_He was back in the tower at the church where Rei was hiding out. He watched her exo-skin retract but noticed the white symbol on her chest before it went away._

"_I don't remember the spider symbol," Shinji said calmly._

"_Recent addition," Rei replied._

"A spider," Shinji said with finality.

Misato was confused on that choice. "Why a spider?" she asked.

"Spiders are very strong for their size, can stick to walls, have borderline ESP, predatory senses... and Rei had the symbol of one on her chest."

"Rits?"

"Doable," she replied. "Spider genomes are different from human but with enough tinkering, it should be possible. I'll have to collect several different species, but they're all basically in our own back yard. I'll have the mutagen ready by tonight."

Shinji nodded slowly. "I can make it that long at least."

* * *

That night, Ritsuko completed the mutagen. It took the genes of seven species of spiders before she was able to determine which genes she needed and which she was able to simply discard. The regenerative properties would come from the symbiote DNA. But she knew Shinji needed more than just regeneration to help Rei defeat Asuka... or rather to help Venom bring down Carnage.

The serum would theoretically provide Shinji with greatly enhanced strength, stamina, durability, and speed. His senses would increase greatly, especially his sense of balance. Part of her was actually sort of excited to see the results of this Frankenstein experiment. The rest of her was worried she was going to kill Shinji.

Misato insisted she be on hand for this and waited in the room with Shinji, who was awake, if only barely. Ritsuko walked in with the syringe filled with an angry red, glowing fluid.

"Why is it glowing?" Misato asked.

"In order for the serum to activate properly, it had to be irradiated. Nothing dangerous... the serum itself is the real danger. Well, Shinji, it's not too late to back out."

"No," he whispered. "We go forward. I have to save Rei, no matter what the cost."

"Very well," Ritsuko said and pushed the needle into the insertion joint of his IV drip. She depressed the plunger, pushing the viscous fluid into the tube and by proxy into his veins.

The fluid pushed its way into his blood, mutating cells as soon as it came into contact with them. Red blood cells suddenly developed brief black patches on them as their genetic encoding was modified by the mutagen.

Shinji's eyes closed as his breathing became labored.

"What's happening to him?" Misato asked worriedly.

Ritsuko began monitoring his body as his veins were suddenly visible all over his body. Patches of charged and burned flesh were drying up and shrinking, revealing new skin and repaired tissues below them.

"It's working!" Ritsuko said with barely contained excitement. "It's actually working."

Shinji's eyes opened and were glowing red as his breathing became even more labored. His heart beat faster and harder in his chest as more of his destroyed body was repairing itself rapidly, spurred on by the initial mutation of his body. Shinji's hands gripped the covers and promptly stuck to them as he gasped in barely contained pain. His muscles became denser but lengthened slightly, giving the already physically fit pilot more muscle tone and definition than he ever had in his life. His hair grew out of control, lengthening to nearly 18 inches. Ritsuko figured it was a result of the excess regenerative growth his body was going through.

Finally the changes were completed. Regeneration slowed, leaving only a few blemishes and burn scars on his body. His breathing was easy and free, and his heart rate and blood pressure slowly returned to normal.

Ritsuko took a sample of his blood and began to examine it under her scanners and instruments.

"Well?" Misato asked with only the faintest edge of worry on her voice.

"No signs of the mutagen remain," she replied. "All of it has been spent. His body has been modified to the limits of the mutagen's capabilities. He won't change any further."

"Will he live?"

Ritsuko went back to the bed and looked at the medical scans. "He now has only first degree burns over 0.65 percent of his body, his lungs are clear of any burns or damage, and his skeletal system shows no signs of breakage or stress. It's like the accident never happened. Now, as to what he got from the mutagen in return for this, that remains to be seen."

"Excellent work, Rits!"

The doctor smiled for the first time since this started. "I didn't think it would work."

"Yeah? Well, it did. Thank you for saving his life."

Ritsuko nodded, finally allowing herself to relax. Misato seemed to be back to normal for the most part, but the doctor still couldn't shake the impression she got of her friend in the office. She simply hoped it was nothing more than stress.

* * *

Three days later, as Carnage still hunted for her prey and Venom continued to elude her while trying to recover from her own injuries, Shinji busied himself learning how to use his newfound strength.

Shinji took a martial arts stance. Pushing himself forward he leapt into the air and delivered a few kicks in midair. When he landed he rolled laterally, pushing off using the jump's momentum to bounce. He landed in a low stance with his legs spread far apart, one in front and one behind. His hands raised in open positions. He leapt again delivering a flipping and spinning kick as he landed on a wall and stuck there on all fours. Shinji continued to flip and roll along the wall, as if pretending to battle Carnage.

As he continued, Misato watched from an observation room, one floor up. Ritsuko stood next to her taking notes on a clipboard.

"Well?" Misato asked.

"His strength is increasing daily," she replied. It's getting pretty close to Venom's capabilities as far as raw power. But I think Shinji has a lot more raw speed behind him than power. Something he can use to his advantage. His resilience is pretty impressive, but in reality, nowhere near what the symbiotes themselves are capable of.

"His acrobatic abilities are _far_ beyond those of Olympic athletes, and his sense of balance is beyond the best tightrope walkers. He still has faster regeneration than a human but it's slowed down a lot, not up to par with the symbiotes.

"Also, he's developed the ability to produce web strands from his wrists."

"What?!" Misato couldn't believe her ears.

"It's true. His wrists have spinnerets in them that allow him to produce vast quantities of webbing and launch them in a similar manner as the symbiotes use their tendrils. He can't whip them about like them but he can use it to swing like they do, and can probably use it to immobilize a target like spiders do with their own webs."

Misato watched as Shinji leapt from one wall and launched a web-line up the ceiling where it stuck. He swung across the gym and landed on the opposite wall where he stuck.

"Obviously, he can stick to walls like a spider can too."

"Amazing," Misato replied. "But is it enough against the power of Carnage and Venom?"

"Not alone," Ritsuko replied. "But I have a feeling he won't have to fight both."

"I know. I got the report from that fishing town a few days ago. Carnage is trying her damnedest to kill Venom."

"There have been numerous sightings all over the area of Venom and Carnage but they've been brief at best. Carnage is hunting her down but Venom keeps giving her the slip. I have a feeling the sonic blaster was more effective against her than even I thought it would be."

A loud thump made Misato jump. Shinji was stuck to the window from the outside with a goofy grin on his face.

"Don't I remind you of one of those Garfield things you see in mini-vans?" he joked.

Ritsuko chuckled and Misato laughed.

"Glad to see you're in better spirits," Misato said.

"I have to be," Shinji replied. "I believe we have a chance to save them now. I know by myself, I'm not enough... but with Rei's help, maybe the two of us can finally end this tragedy."

"I hope so Shinji-kun," Misato replied. "I truly hope so..."

* * *

Another wall in downtown Tokyo-3 spelled out the words "CARNAGE RULES" in blood. Asuka was getting pissed now. It's been over three days since the hunt began, and although she felt like she kept getting close, she hasn't physically seen her target since Yokosuka.

_'Where the fuck is she?!' _Asuka growled internally.

_We'll find her, _Carnage replied. _It's only a matter of time, my sweet Asuka. Then we can go through with the plan at last._

_'If Shinji is still alive,'_ she thought back.

_We have to believe..._

* * *

Venom landed in her old hideout, allowing her exo-skin to change into a simple outfit of blue jeans and a t-shirt.

"I'm getting tired of being hunted," she said aloud.

_I know you are, _Venom replied. _It won't be long before she catches up. But we're almost fully healed now. We just have to come up with a plan to stop Carnage once and for all._

Rei nodded as she allowed the exo-skin to change into panties and a camisole top. "Carnage should be far enough away that we can get some real sleep tonight. She won't look for me here yet... But soon, no place will be safe anymore."

_We'll go to Tokyo-3 tomorrow night and get her attention. Tomorrow night, we'll end this once and for all._

"Are we ready for this?"

_Of course we are. One way or another, it ends tomorrow night._

Rei closed her eyes as she curled up with the covers. "One way or another. I hope Shinji is still alive. I want to see him again... Even if it's just one more time..."

* * *

**End of Chapter XII**

* * *

_I've felt the hate rise up in me,_

_Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves_

_I wander out where you can't see,_

_Inside my shell I wait and bleed_


	13. Endgame, Part I

**XIII: Endgame, Part I**

* * *

As Shinji continued training for what would be his greatest battle since the Angel Wars, Misato and Tashima had the task of picking at least two new pilots to accompany Shinji into combat with China. Though there was still a chance that intervention was not necessary, neither were going to take any chances.

This was the first time Hikari had ever been this deep into NERV HQ. Though her father still worked in the maintenance department for the organization, Hikari herself was an accountant at the Imigawa Corporation now. She wasn't pleased to have been press-ganged into service like this, but she knew it was always a possibility. The person standing next to her however looked like she was ready to kick some ass for all the excited fidgeting she was doing.

That girl's name is Mari "Illustrious" Makinami. This half-Japanese half-English chick was apparently a crack sniper with the SAS. Though how she became a sniper since she wore glasses was anyone's guess. She figured the requirements must be lower than that of the JSSDF. She didn't realize that the SAS had the best snipers in the world, and have had them since before Second Impact.

They both stood in the main office of the Supreme Commander of NERV. Misato was looking over their files as they waited patiently. While Hikari wore a sensible business skirt, blouse and jacket, her compatriot's attire was closer to Euro-punk crossed with Japanese schoolgirl consisting of tights, a plaid pleated skirt and white button up shirt that seemed to barely contain her ample bosom. How she could be a sniper being endowed like that was another question entirely, and Hikari found herself blushing faintly as she chastised herself for even thinking about that.

"So," Misato began. "I see you were both potential candidates for the EVA program based on the Marduke Institute's findings. Miss Horaki, you haven't done anything in the field of military activity at any point in your life, but your attention to detail and organizational skills are invaluable to us which is why you were chosen as a pilot."

"Yes, ma'am," Hikari replied.

"Mari. You, on the other hand, are a top operative for the SAS. Your skills as a sniper are... according to this paper in front of me... beyond reproach. You should be proud of your achievements."

"Thank you, Mom," Mari replied. Though she spoke Japanese, she was used to calling female superiors 'Mom' as this was customary in the British Military. Misato didn't seem to mind it.

"I thank you both for not making this difficult," Misato continued. "As you probably know from the news, there is trouble brewing in China. Our latest report stated that the rebellion is now in full swing, and battles are breaking out all over the western half of the country. The rebels have their sights set on expanding Chinese territory and influence, uniting all of the far eastern nations into one superpower, even if they are unwilling to join their cause. As a result, we may have to take action soon. If the current regime begins to falter under the attacks of the rebels, we will be dispatched to help equalize the country in favor of the current government."

She paused. "I know neither one of you want to die in a foreign land. Believe me, I've been at this for far too long and would rather you do not either. I assure you that you are fighting not just for Japan but potentially the entire free world as well. You will begin training and synchronization drills tomorrow. I expect both of you to be in locker rooms no later than 0730, and ready to go by 0800. That is all."

They both saluted and turned to leave.

"Mari," Misato said quickly. "A moment, please."

"Of course, Mom," she replied and watched the other pilot leave. "With all due respect, I don't think Miss Horaki is cut out for this line of work."

"Noted, but believe me Miss Makinami, she'll surprise you."

"Yes, Mom," she said quickly. "What can I do for you?"

"Have a seat," Misato commanded.

Mari sat down just as the door opened and Ritsuko entered the room.

"It's prepared, but honestly I think it only has about a 65 percent chance of working," Ritsuko explained.

"I'm not worried," Misato replied. "We've gotten more plans to work with less than a fraction of a percent chance to succeed than I care to count. I'm sure it will work. Rits, this is Mari 'Illustrious' Makinami. She's one of the new pilots, the one on loan from the British SAS."

Mari stood up as Ritsuko came into view and the doctor offered her hand.

"An honor, Mom," she replied.

Ritsuko smiled somewhat sheepishly and looked at Misato.

"That's how they say 'sir' to female superiors over there, I guess," Misato explained.

Ritsuko nodded her acknowledgment. "Right, straight to business then," she started. "I'm sure you've tried to keep up with the unusual happenings in Tokyo-3, Miss Makinami?"

"Yes, Mom," the young woman replied immediately. "Monsters that eat people have been terrorizing the city now for the past week or so."

"What we are about to tell you is to be kept in the strictest of confidence, understood?" Mari nodded her understanding. "Good. I'm responsible for their creation."

Mari expressed shock at hearing that.

"A long time ago, a younger and much more naïve me got ahold of a DNA sample found in a crater created by the Second Impact. This DNA sample showed metamorphic properties and revealed itself to be a living thing. I helped it grow, enhanced it and created what I was hoping would be super solider program to work alongside Project-E. The Supreme Commander at the time rejected the idea and ordered me to destroy it. Instead, I put it on ice. About a week ago, it got out and bonded with one of the Evangelion Pilots... Rei Ayanami."

"The First Child," Mari commented.

"Yes. She became the Bloodletter, who we later learned had the name Venom. At some point, however, the symbiote divided and created a copy of itself. That copy infected the blood of the Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu and created the second monster, Carnage. Both of these symbiotes were fighting each other and apparently both were infatuated with the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, who recently nearly died during one of their scuffles."

"That scuffle destroyed my apartment," Misato said dryly.

"Now, now, Misato. We agreed we were only going to go over the important points," Ritsuko cautioned.

Misato threw her hands up in the air. "It was important to me!"

"Of course," Ritsuko replied, trying not to sound insensitive. "As I was saying, Shinji nearly died. But we used a special mutagen derived from arachnid DNA and the base DNA coding of the symbiotes in order to save his life. This gave him some unique gifts. We're hoping, since Venom seems to be trying to be less evil that between Shinji and her, they can end this chaos once and for all."

"I'd imagine there would be some trust issues there," Mari noted.

"Indeed," Misato replied. "Which is where you come in. Doctor Akagi has developed a new serum, derived from the base code of the symbiote genome that is fatal to it."

"I believe," Ritsuko explained. "That I can use this serum to effectively kill the symbiotes without killing their hosts, and thus save both of the pilot's lives. But since neither one is going to simply lie down and take it, it needs to be delivered from a safe distance. I have a specially designed needle that will punch straight through the symbiote skin and deliver the serum to the host's bloodstream. This will pass the poison directly to the symbiote in such a way that the symbiote can't simply expel it."

"We're told you have exceptional vision," Misato continued. "Which is why we chose you for this assignment. So, what's with the glasses?"

Mari smiled. "I use these to see normally, like everyone else does," she explained. "If I were to take my glasses off, I could make out the individual cells that make up the skin on your face at this range. I could count how many errant hairs you might have missed after your last wax job that you wouldn't even be able to see in a vanity mirror. With my glasses off, I can read a road sign from five miles away."

Ritsuko at Misato with a look of shock. "The file said her sight was exceptional," she explained. "But they didn't say anything like that!"

"If that was all I could do, that would make me a good sniper," Mari explained. "This is what makes me an exceptional one." She pulled a coin out of her pocket and tossed it to Misato. "Flip this and I'll call it in the air."

"What does this have to do with being a sniper?" Misato asked.

"Just humor me a second," she replied.

Misato sighed and went to flip the coin.

"One thing: let it land on the desk so we all can see it."

Misato flipped the coin and Mari called 'heads'. Sure enough, it landed on heads. Ritsuko looked at the coin and made sure it wasn't double headed or weighted strangely.

"Lucky guess," Misato said.

"Flip it again," Mari said. Misato sighed and did so, this time Mari called 'tails'.

"Once more," Mari waited until the coin was in the air again. "Edge."

"What?" Misato asked as the coin hit the desk and landed on its edge, bounced once and landed again on its edge coming to a halt after a short roll. It never fell over.

"What in the name of...?" Ritsuko whispered.

"I make my own luck," Mari explained. "I really don't understand how I do it, but quite literally, every shot I make is a lucky shot. It's like I have limited control over the force of probability itself. That's why the SAS sets me up with the most difficult shots... Because they know as long as I'm aware of my surroundings and everything that can physically affect the shot, I'll always hit the target."

"Incredible," Misato said. "You're prefect."

"Why, thank you, Mom." Mari beamed a smile. "So, when does this go down?"

"Soon," Misato explained. "As soon as Shinji's equipment is ready for him, he'll hunt down the symbiotes. Once he's engaged them, you'll be dispatched for the kill shot."

* * *

Shinji donned his new plugsuit. It was the same overall design as his first, but was black with red detailing. In the center of his chest was a symbol that resembled a spider with angular legs.

He stood up, walking out of the locker room and into the main hall. There Misato and Ritsuko both met him along with several members of Section-2.

"We'll be in constant contact but we'll have to stay back until you have the targets engaged," Misato explained.

"You mean the girls, don't you?" Shinji asked. "Please don't call them 'the targets'."

"Right," Misato replied. "Sorry, Shinji. I didn't mean to sound so... unfeeling about all this."

"I understand Misato-san," he replied. "I'm eager for this to be over soon as well."

"Once you're in combat, Section-4 and Section-2 will close the trap around the combat zone. You and Rei will need to subdue Asuka before we can move in."

"Shinji?" Ritsuko asked. "Are you sure you don't want any sonic or anti-armor weapons?"

"No," he replied. "I do this with my own abilities or not at all."

"As you wish," Ritsuko replied.

"It's all up to you now," Misato concluded. "Good luck, and good hunting."

Shinji nodded as he made his way to the surface.

Minutes later, he was outside on street level again. Section-2 and -4 individuals nodded to him from their cars around him. He nodded back and ran for the building across the street. He jumped onto the side and crawled up the wall quickly, flipping onto the roof when he hit the top. Then he ran full speed jumping from roof to roof until he hit the main avenue. There, he dived off the building and launched a web line which stuck to a nearby building. Using gravity, he swung and propelled himself forward faster than even the traffic below could move.

* * *

Carnage leapt into the tower of the church in Nakemeguro. She scanned the area with her eyes noticing it was used as a home for someone. Venom's scent was heavy in the air. Silently, she crawled in and moved towards the bed which appeared to be occupied. Without ceremony, she raised a claw and brought it down upon the bed as hard as she could...

…Only to tear though pillows sending a spray of feathers in the air.

"_**Heads up, you freak!" **_Venom's voice came causing Carnage to turn in time to take a pair of feet to her face. The force of the kick sent her out of the tower and onto the street below, rolling until she hit the building. Venom took off towards Tokyo-3 as Carnage attempted to recover, gaining some ground over her slightly faster opponent.

_'Okay, that was close,' _Rei thought.

_Close is fine, _Venom replied. _She's chasing us now. I told you she wouldn't bother to look up right?_

_'Yeah, you called it.'_

Carnage gave chase but it still took the better part of an hour to catch up to Venom. By then, they were already within Tokyo-3's city limits.

"_**Decided to come back to where it all began?" **_Carnage asked with an edge to her voice. _**"Die here or in Nakemeguro, it doesn't matter either way. Either way, you're both dead."**_

"_**Talk is cheap," **_Venom yelled back. _**"Then again, a whore of your caliber can't be expected to be worth a whole lot more than that." **_Venom swung back around an antenna at the end of her taunt and slammed into Carnage sending them both into a free fall. All the way down, they beat on each other. Carnage used her exo-skin to form blades and spikes to try to impale Venom while her opponent whipped the hell out of her back with several sets of tendrils. They split apart before they reached ground level.

"_**It ends tonight," **_Venom said with finality. _**"We're sick of the chase. Tonight, you're going to learn what it means to get on our bad side."**_

"_**Ha!" **_Carnage taunted. _**"That's a good one! You're no match for us and you know it!"**_

"_**You've been saying that a lot lately. You sure you're not repeating yourself just so you have the benefit of believing it?"**_

"_**Enough of your posturing and bullshit!" **_Carnage lunged but Venom was quick to dodge, landing on top of a minivan. _**"You think avoiding us is going to win you a victory here?!"**_

"_**Oh, don't get us wrong. We know just how strong you are, and how your capabilities give you an advantage. But that doesn't matter. Regardless, we will beat you tonight."**_

Carnage leapt again, and Venom leapt away at the same moment. This time, she landed on the side of a large building and scurried up the side on all fours. Carnage, in annoyance launched a series of spikes and blades from her exo-skin which Venom easily dodged on the way up. With a growl of annoyance, Carnage resumed her pursuit.

* * *

At that moment, Shinji received the report from downtown regarding the struggle between the two monsters. He quickly made his way there, swinging with greater speed than even he thought was safely possible. Within minutes, he caught sight of Venom and Carnage on top of a nearby 20-story parking garage and moved in.

Carnage launched another set of blades at Venom, who easily flipped over them. As soon as Venom landed, she sent a series of five tendrils at Carnage, but the red symbiote was able to slice them apart when they got close. This didn't seem to cause Venom any pain, though it annoyed her to no end. Carnage suddenly lunged in, knocking Venom to the pavement. The black symbiote struggled to get the monster off of her as multiple blades fired out of the creature's chest and stomach and into her own.

"_**Game over, bitch," **_Carnage taunted.

"Not quite, ugly," Shinji called out as he swung in. Carnage looked in the direction the voice came in and got a face full of feet for the second time tonight. This hit knocked her hard into a parked van about 30 feet away. The impact nearly flipped the van in the process.

Shinji had bounced from the impact into a back flip landing in a low stance.

Venom got back to her feet and started ripping the broken blades and spikes out of her chest, watching as the pieces of Carnage's exo-skin began to turn to dust.

"Rei! Are you alright?!" Shinji called as he moved to her.

"_**What?! Shinji-kun?!" **_Venom replied in confusion. Then she watched him remove his mask and she knew it was him. The exo-skin pealed from her face and she embraced her love. Shinji held her close to him for a moment before he separated from her.

"Glad to see you're okay," he said at length.

"We're glad you're alive!" Rei replied. "Er... I'm glad," she corrected sheepishly.

"It's okay, Rei. I understand." They embraced for a moment before the sound of wrenching metal tore their attention away from each other.

"_**Cute," **_Carnage's voice came as the side of the van ripped itself open with a series of razor edged tendrils. _**"How the hell did you get super-powered up without us, baka?"**_

"Long story, Asuka," Shinji put his mask back on. Carnage was surprised to see the eye patches were designed in a similar shape to the symbiotes themselves. "Now, give it up! It's over!"

"_**Nothing is over!" **_Carnage yelled back. _**"Just as soon as we deal with Wondergirl, we'll talk about what's over and what isn't!"**_

"Not happening on my watch," Shinji said with resolve.

Carnage roared in frustration. _**"You belong to us!"**_

"No. I loved you Asuka, as my best friend, perhaps even a sister. But what you want, I can never give you." He paused. "I'm sorry."

"_**Sorry? SORRY! I told you NEVER to apologize to me again! NEVER!"**_

"Strange," Shinji commented.

"_**What?"**_

"You said 'me'... not 'us'."

Carnage froze for a moment.

_'What's happening here?' _Asuka asked internally.

_We're not on the same page anymore, _Carnage replied. _We need to kill them both, now!_

_'But...'_

_No buts! You know this has to be done..._

_'I know... Forgive me, Shinji...'_

"_**A moment's weakness, nothing more," **_Carnage explained.

"You don't want to kill me, Asuka."

"_**You're right... 'I' don't. But you have left 'us' no choice in the matter."**_

* * *

On ground level, the building became surrounded in a matter of minutes. Section-4 personnel were already getting into nearby buildings to make sure the battle didn't leave the garage. Sonic weapons and incendiary launchers were getting installed into safe locations with good firing positions to ensure there would be no room to run if they were needed.

"Status check," Misato asked over the radio from her helicopter. Across from her was Ritsuko Akagi and the newly-commissioned Lieutenant Makinami who was busy checking over her favorite sniper rifle, A CheyTac M-200 Intervention. This one was modified to be able to take the specialized injector rounds Ritsuko had prepared for this occasion.

"All units are in position," Tashima explained from the field. "Ikari has engaged the targets."

"I'll need at least a semi-clear line of fire," Mari explained. "That would be a tall rooftop."

"Nearest tall rooftop that would be suitable is a good 12 blocks away from the target area," Misato cautioned.

"Only 12? I thought you were going to make this hard on me." Mari smiled at Misato. The girl's confidence was reassuring, but this would be the first time Misato has seen her in action. "Just get me there and I'll do the rest."

"I hope you're right," Misato replied. "Pilot! Get us to that drop point! Now!"

* * *

Section-4 personnel ran from an explosion as a minivan flew from the top of the roof and landed on one of their vehicles. Up top, another vehicle rolled towards the end, thrown by Carnage. Venom ran in a huge circle around Carnage to avoid the vehicles before scurrying forward with intent to strike. She got knocked out of the air by another razor edged tendril from Carnage. For her troubles, Carnage took a web ball full in the face from Shinji. As she struggled with that, two web lines stuck to her back and she was yanked hard. The momentum threw her into a pickup truck with enough force to flip it. The truck hadn't even settled yet when it was suddenly cut in half.

Carnage was back on her feet and looking less human than ever. Tendrils with razor edge points lashed off of her body from multiple places. The shape was even wrong, being seemingly too stretched to be humanoid anymore.

"I think I pissed her off," Shinji commented. After a loud roar tore from the lungs of Carnage, he spoke again. "Yep, I did." He flipped off the side of the building as a series of razor-edged tendrils tore up the ground where he was less than a second later. He stuck to the wall about two stories down with his back to it looking up. Carnage went to the edge to pursue but was nailed hard by a sonic blaster from street level. Shinji's mask automatically plugged his hearing when the sound passed him to prevent him from suffering any hearing damage.

Venom at that moment launched a series of tendrils that snatched Carnage and ripped her back as the red symbiote was attempting to recover from the shock. It was obvious that Carnage was less susceptible to that type of weaponry though, as she quickly recovered and managed to slash Venom across the face full on with a nasty claw swipe.

As Venom tried to recover, two thin tendrils launched from Carnage's stomach into Venom's and out the other side of her and threw her to the left with great force. The hits hurt worse than anything she'd ever felt before and it only took her a moment to realize why. One hit her below her bellybutton and into where her womb was supposed to be. The razor-edged tendril scraped across the surface of her S2 core which was still there.

Venom shrieked in pain and thrashed madly. The tendrils pulled her off the ground and slammed her back down again, this time pinning her to the floor.

Shinji leapt over the ledge back up to the top and fired a pair of weblines at Carnage only to watch as another set of bladed tendrils sliced them in midair then grabbed the ends and yanked him forward with great force. Carnage kicked him in the head hard when he arrived throwing him back. Shinji rolled a few times but stopped moving. He was out cold.

"_**All your talk and you couldn't even slow us down," **_Carnage hissed. _**"Pathetic!" **_She laughed maniacally at her fallen enemy.

Venom was in so much pain, she couldn't even see straight anymore. She tried to get the tendrils out of her but they simply pressed deeper into the ground causing another, more human scream to leave her lungs.

Carnage launched two more tendrils out of her back and into a nearby gas-powered car. They ripped the engine out of the vehicle and into Carnage's waiting hands.

"_**Time to die, bitch," **_she taunted and hefted the engine high over her head with the intent to bring it crashing down on Venom's head. In Venom's current condition, this action would be fatal...

* * *

**To Be Concluded...**

* * *

_'Cause we hunt you down without mercy,_

_Hunt you down all nightmare long_

_Feel us breathe upon your face,_

_Feel us shift, every move we trace_

_Hunt you down without mercy,_

_Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah_

_Luck... runs... out_

_You crawl back in, but luck runs out_

– _Metallica, All Nightmare Long_


	14. Endgame, Part II

**XIV: Endgame, Part II**

* * *

Sirens blared from the street below, lights caressed the edges of the parking structure, and men could be heard shouting on the wind. None of these sounds were even registering to the two symbiote warriors on the top of the structure.

Venom writhed in pain with two tendrils piercing her body, one had managed to crack the outer layer of her S2 while the other, further up, served only to intensify her pain. Carnage hefted an internal combustion engine above her head. Oil and gas dripped down her arm as she prepared to bring the heavy conglomeration of metal down upon Venom's head for the killing blow.

Just as she was about to do it, an armor piercing bullet fired from nearly 10 blocks away and from the air cut through the metal casing of the engine. The heat and friction caused by its passing as it tore through the engine's oil-filled reservoirs and gas-filled cylinders ignited these fluids. And with little in the way of places to go, the sudden expansion of heat and gas ripped a massive fissure though the entire block. Carnage was suddenly holding a massive fireball, one that poured flammable and difficult to remove substances all over her.

Half of the now destroyed engine block was thrown one direction and the other half in the opposite direction. An inhuman shriek, many times louder than any previously heard tore from the lungs of Carnage as she stepped back and threw herself to the ground attempting to douse the flames. This action tore the two tendrils pinning Venom to the ground out of her body, but this also caused even more damage to her sensitive S2 core.

Venom shrieked and rolled on her side, now free of the tendrils that held her in place. Her exo-skin responded by pouring itself into her lower abdomen through the same hole made by the tendril and covering the S2 as much as it could to seal it closed and prevent it from ripping itself apart.

_Stay with me, dammit! _Venom told her host. _We're not done yet._

_'The pain,' _Rei moaned inside her head. _'It's worse than it's ever been before!'_

_We're still in danger! Carnage will be back on her feet and hopping mad in a matter of moments!_

Rei did her best to bite back the pain as her exo-skin compressed her core to keep it together. _**"We can't die yet," **_Venom hissed as she forced herself back to her feet.

Carnage lashed out a tendril taking out a nearby hydrant which spewed water towards her. Rolling in that proved move effective at putting out such a difficult blaze. Though her resistance against sonic attacks was far better than Venom's, she was much more susceptible to fire. She rose to her feet in time to take a massive tendril strike to the face, throwing her a good 10 feet back and sent her sprawling. Venom walked towards Carnage, one hand covering the wound on her lower stomach, the other controlling a heavy tendril.

Carnage got back to her feet again only to be struck once more. Finally having enough of this, she sent a series of tendrils tipped with spear-like points at Venom. But her attack was sluggish due to much of her exo-skin being fused from being burned. Venom easily sidestepped the attack and continued to move forward.

"_**No!" **_Carnage screamed. _**"I will kill you!"**_

"_**And now you're the one who's not able to keep up your synchronization with your symbiote," **_Venom pointed out.

"_**Damn you!" **_Carnage leapt from her position, knocking Rei to the floor again, Carnage began clawing into Venom as hard as she could, but Venom's exo-skin was reducing the impact of most of the hits. _**"I will kill you!" **_Another tendril shot into her stomach, This one cut though the exo-skin trying to keep Rei's S2 in one piece and neatly pieced it though the center.

Venom screamed.

"_**Still got that thing, huh?" **_Carnage taunted as she ripped the tendril out and shoved one of her claws into the hole instead. _**"Can't do much of anything when you're in this much pain. We've got you now!"**_

Venom tried to push her off but the pain reduced her ability to move or even get up enough strength to get her off.

Carnage was about to finish the job when she heard Shinji's voice again.

"Sounds like you need a tune-up," he quipped. As Carnage turned her head in that direction she caught a glimpse of Shinji swinging something in a wide arch on a pair of web-lines but she didn't see what it was until it nailed her in the head and threw her off of Venom. The sub-compact car become even more compact from the hit but did its job brilliantly.

Shinji ran to the fallen Venom, who was simply laying there in pain.

"Come on, Rei, don't die on me!"

The exo-skin pealed from Rei's face and the girl moaned in pain.

"Shin..ji..." she whispered, trying to stay awake.

"It's okay, Rei," Shinji replied. "I'm here."

His head snapped towards Carnage as she managed to push the car off of her. The young man stood up and walked towards the fallen Symbiote. "You should just stay down, Asuka."

"_**Fat chance, baka,"**_ she replied. As she forced herself back to her feet. Shinji leapt upon her knocking her onto her back.

"Damn it, Asuka! You destroy everything you touch!" he began to relentlessly beat her about the head with clenched fists. "You say you love me and then you destroy everything that matters to me! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Rei slowly got back to a sitting position. She saw what Shinji was doing and saw the position he was in.

"No... Shinji!" Rei struggled to get to her feet, but it was too late.

Shinji's fists raised up but stopped moving. Behind him three red metallic points from spear-tipped tendrils glistened pointing away and dripped with blood. Shinji looked down and saw the tendrils were through his upper abdomen.

"Ow," Shinji said half-heartedly as he was thrown off the points.

Rei screamed in rage, her eyes glowing with an inner fire that actually _scared_ Carnage when she saw them. She ran full speed at Carnage as the red symbiote was getting back to its feet yet again, only to get slammed by Rei, who was still covered in exo-skin from the neck down. They hit the nearby wall hard enough to crack the concrete.

Rei threw Carnage over her shoulder onto the asphalt and began kicking her. When Carnage tried to use a tendril, she created one of her own and knocked it aside. Then she kicked Carnage hard enough to send her sprawling a good 15 feet. As Carnage tried to get up, Rei leapt upon her and slammed her back to the asphalt. With massive clenched fists she slammed her in the back over and over again like an errant gorilla filled with primal rage. Carnage tried to get away, only to be slammed back down again. With one last cry of fury, she brought both hands down onto Carnage's back and was rewarded with a resounding 'crack'.

Carnage screamed in pain and finally stopped twitching. The exo-skin was drying up and falling off of her skin in red ash. Rei stood back and watched as more of Asuka became visible. She had bruises all over her back, especially at the point where Rei shattered one of her lumbar joints. A sprawl of red hair was visible and within moments there were no signs of the exo-skin anymore. Asuka was exposed to the world for the fallen woman-child she had become, naked and broken, like so many of the dolls she destroyed in her youth.

Rei stood back a step and turned towards Shinji's direction, watching as he was beginning to stand on his own. She was about to say something when she noticed Shinji pulling his mask off.

"Look out!" he managed but it was too late. Rei felt the prick punch though the exo-skin and into her shoulder. Confusion was plainly visible on her face as she watched the exo-skin on her shoulder around the point of impact creeping away.

"Oh, no," Rei whispered as she realized she couldn't hear Venom in her mind anymore. And if the skin was disintegrating from her shoulder...

The cascade effect was fast. All of her exo-skin was simply evaporating, and when the skin holding her core together gave way, Rei screamed in torment before she fell to the asphalt clutching her lower torso. It was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

Shinji ran to his fallen love, oblivious of his own wounds and dropped to her side trying desperately to wake her up. 12 blocks away, Mari lowered her rifle and replaced her glasses. She mouthed the words _'something's wrong'_ to Misato as Section-2 operatives quickly swarmed the roof of the parking garage.

* * *

Rei remembered little, but she got flashes here and there. She remembered being wheeled into a hostpital, the sounds of medical equipment was a faint echo around her. She thought she heard the voice of Ritsuko but she wasn't sure. To her, it felt like the world had ended. Her stomach was a ball of dull pain she could barely register. And she heard a familiar voice telling her she would be okay... but it didn't sound like any doctor she knew...

Eventually the darkness closed around her and she welcomed it...

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

Rei woke up nearly a week later. Groggy, she opened her eyes and was greeted by Shinji's smiling face.

"Shinji-kun?" she whispered.

"The one and only," he said pleasantly. "How do you feel?"

"...Odd," Rei replied. "Is this NERV?"

"Yeah," Shinji explained. "When the fight ended, they apparently hit you with some kind of anti-symbiote dart or something. I tried to warn you but... I guess I wasn't fast enough."

"I see..." she whispered. "Is... Is Asuka dead?"

"No," Shinji replied with a little bit of sadness in his voice. "She's... Well, let's not talk about that right now."

Rei nodded.

"Misato has cleared you with the authorities," he continued. "You were considered temporarily insane during this whole tragedy, your actions being the result of coercion. So no charges against you are being brought up... especially now that Venom is dead."

"I see," Rei sounded sad at that.

"You can't honestly miss it," Shinji stated. "It ruined your life. It turned you into a murderer."

"She let me feel _free_," she countered. "I've never been free before, Shinji-kun. And I know that no matter how much I want to feel that again... I can't."

"I'm sorry," he replied, quite sincerely. "I truly am."

Rei said nothing.

"Look, you still need rest. I'm going to let you do that, ok?"

"Ok," she replied.

Ritsuko entered the room as Shinji left.

"Doctor," she said in acknowledgment.

"Good morning, Rei," Ritsuko said as she stood by the bed. "I have some good news and probably some bad news for you."

"What's the bad?" Rei deadpanned.

"You're going to need to learn how to deal with a monthly bleeding cycle now," Ritsuko replied.

Rei's heart suddenly beat faster. She understood what that meant. She pulled her cover's down and pulled her shirt up seeing that the wounds over her lower torso were fully healed.

"The S2?" Rei asked tentatively. She knew she technically couldn't live without it.

"Somehow," Ritsuko explained. "And, for the life of me, I have no idea how this happened. The S2 organ you possess has been relocated to about here." The doctor lightly touched her a bit above where it once was. "It's now sitting just under your stomach but above your intestines. Also, it's mostly repaired from the damage it sustained during your fight with Carnage."

"How?" Rei replied. "I shouldn't even be able to regenerate core damage or, at least, not that fast."

"Well, you're still showing a slightly heightened healing factor, probably inherited by your exposure to the symbiote, so that could be the reason. As far as why it relocated, or how you suddenly grew a full set of reproductive organs... not a clue. I wish I had an explanation for you for that, but there is none."

"I see," Rei replied but she couldn't hide just how happy she was. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she realizes she could finally fulfill her dream of having a child of her own. She was no longer the 'woman-who-never-bleeds', and suddenly felt more human than she ever had in her entire life.

Ritsuko gave her a quick hug. "Well, congratulations," she said to her. "I'm glad to see you so happy with this new development. I'll let you rest now, and you can think about how you are going to tell Shinji you can be a mother now. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

Rei thought for a moment that he'd really be thrilled at the prospect of trying, and that thought brought a bright blush to her face. Ritsuko knew what she was thinking and couldn't help a small chuckle as she left the room.

Carefully, Rei got to her feet and walked towards the window.

_'Can you hear me?' _she said internally, hoping desperately that Venom wasn't truly dead.

_Always, _came the response.

Rei sighed in relief. _'How did you survive?'_

_Well, the long and short of it is this: after Carnage's second strike into your core, she opened a hole into the very center of it but didn't damage the inner sphere of the core. When I realized what was pumped into your body after you got shot, I retreated into your core where your latent angelic healing abilities kept me alive. In return, it fed off of my regenerative powers and sealed itself. So basically, I'm locked in your core now._

_'Can you get out?' _Rei asked.

In response, her hand started becoming covered in black exo-skin again, but only for a moment.

_I imagine our strength has increased since I'm now pretty much perma-bonded to your S2._

Rei smiled softly. _'So I get everything I want this time... I win.'_

_Indeed. I repaired your body for you. I guess your speech about wanting a little girl of your own really affected me._

_'You know, you're really not __**that**__ evil.'_

_Yeah but I have a reputation to uphold, so keep your trap shut about it!_

Rei chuckled lightly... wondering what had happened to Asuka that made Shinji not want to talk about it.

* * *

The war in China continued and Misato busied herself making sure that the pilots were ready.

"Mari," Misato began in the briefing room. "Excellent Job on the last synchronization test scoring over 82 percent. Hikari, you also did very well at 78 percent. Both of you are well above expectations."

The girls stood in their new plugsuits at the position of parade rest, looking proud of their accomplishments.

"Starting tomorrow, both of you will be on a heavy training regimen. Shinji will be joining you in combat simulations. Him being a veteran pilot, when he's not out playing a hero in that damn suit of his, will be training you on the finer points that only he can. He's looking forward to meeting the two of you. You especially you, Hikari. I think he wants to catch up on old times."

"It'll be nice to see him again, ma'am," she replied.

"That's all for now. Any questions?"

"Is Miss Ayanami coming back into active service?" Mari asked inquisitively.

"She is," Misato replied. "As soon as she's given a clean bill of health. Any more questions?" Misato paused. "Very well, Hikari, you are dismissed."

Hikari saluted and left.

"So, Mari," Misato began. "I never got a chance to thank you for your excellent work a week ago. That really was an impressive shot."

"Thanks, Mom," she replied. "If you don't mind, I was wondering if we were getting call-signs."

"Like aircraft pilots do?" Misato asked. Mari nodded in response. "I don't see why not. I know such things bring a level of comradeship to the table. Did you have one in mind for yourself?"

"Actually, I did. I was hoping to use my old SAS call-sign... 'Domino'."

"It seems a good fit, I don't see why not."

Mari seemed happy with the response. "Thank you, Mom."

"Did you have anything else you wanted to talk about? I know you're still sort of new to Japan."

"No, Mom. I'm good. I just wanted to thank you again for this experience and this opportunity to protect the free world."

Misato smiled softly. "We're lucky to have people like you... and Rei... and Shinji..."

"Is there any chance Pilot Sohryu will return to us?"

Misato sighed. "No... Unfortunately, she will have to be considered retired."

* * *

_'It sucks, I know... But I don't think anyone can save her now...'_

Inside a specialized warehouse outside of Berlin, Germany, a guard walked passed a massive liquid filled cylinder. The moment his face came close, the face of Carnage shrieked at him, causing him to jump back.

After her capture, Ritsuko attempted to use the serum on Asuka to rid her of Carnage. For unknown reasons, it didn't work. She tried another but somehow Carnage adapted to the poison and shrugged it off. There was no way to separate the symbiote from Asuka... and Asuka _liked_ it that way.

Carnage relaxed after scaring the new guard, the exo-skin retracting again from Asuka's face. She floated, naked within the cylinder with tendrils of bloody exo-skin coiled around her body as if to embrace her. Carnage's claws were separate, lower while Asuka's arms stayed at her side. Carnage's face was nowhere to be seen now, but Asuka's was clearly visible. She seemed to be asleep again, as if the symbiote was acting of its own accord.

The only way to keep her from trying to escape was to keep her subdued. The synthetic LCL she floated in was laced with a very powerful sedative to keep her asleep, but only her body slept.

_'Stone walls do not a prison make,' _Asuka thought internally. _'Nor iron bars a cage. Sooner or later, we'll escape.'_

_Yes, we will, my sweet Asuka. And when we do... we'll claim our vengeance against all who have wronged us. Even that baka._

_'Yes,' _Asuka agreed, _'Even the baka.'_

Carnage's face formed out of a strand of exo-skin floating in the fluid and began to laugh maniacally. The sound caused the guards and everyone in the facility to stop what they were doing and look as the laugh reached a near fever pitch and echoed throughout the over-glorified prison...

* * *

**Credits**

**Evangelion Characters property of GAINAX**

**Venom, Carnage, Spiderman and Domino are property of Marvel/Disney**

**All characters used in accordance with fair use copyright laws. No monetary gain was generated in the production of this fanfiction story**

**Superwomen of EVA Series created by Orionpax09**

**SOE:Altervese Series created by Archdruid Sephiroth**

"**Duality" written by Archdruid Sephiroth and Tellemicus Sundance**

**Story Planning by Archdruid Sephiroth**

**Edited by Tellemicus Sundance**

**Musical Exerts by Metallica, Slipknot, and Thousand Foot Krutch**

**Reviewers**

**Belthasar**

**Jimbob86**

**Marco A. Salazar**

**MM Browsing**

**The 17th Immortal**

**The Lord of Pages**

**TrinityShadowXIV**

**XRaiderV1**

**Special Thanks**

**Marco A. Salazar (Concept art for me to get inspiration from)**

**Tellemicus Sundance (Editing and original story concept)**

**In Loving Memory**

**Delia Brienza (1939-2010)**


End file.
